UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal

This literature review aims to summarize the body of research on convicting and sentencing decision bias with a focus on the jury box. Disparities in the criminal justice system have long been recorded to largely impact individuals of color by influencing convictions, the length of sentencing, and the probability of probation as opposed to time served when compared to White individuals. The increasing volume of incarcerated minorities calls for an understanding of the judicial system to combat the implications. Studies show how Afrocentric features, trustworthiness of faces, and depiction of ethnicity and race can lead to longer sentences by highlighting cognitive shortcomings and the use of methods in the criminal justice system. With the inclusion of interventions, the influence that is shown on both implicit and explicit levels can be found to be harmful and due for advancement. By exploring cognitive and social mechanisms alongside the systematic drives of the criminal justice system, factors and sources of bias are identified to provide a review of the need for improvement on the impartiality and equity of convicting and sentencing decisions.