Purpose

This paper aims to examine whether being shown a testimony alleging that the perpetrator of a crime was influenced by an accomplice has an impact on the severity of the sentence given to this accomplice.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 119 participants read the summary of a case of armed robbery. Two experimental conditions were adopted: the presence of a testimony suggesting the accomplice’s influence on the perpetrator in committing the crime (versus no testimony). The participants were then asked what sentence they would give the accomplice and what sentence they would have given the perpetrator of the crime, who had in fact already been sentenced. The participants rated items relating to the explanation for the crime (perception that the perpetrator had been manipulated by the presumed accomplice) and to the presumed accomplice’s intent to commit the crime.

Findings

The participants showed themselves to be harsher towards the presumed accomplice when they were shown the testimony about his influence, which reduced the disparity with the sentence they would have given to the perpetrator of the crime. Analyses of mediation show that the participants shown the testimony (as opposed to those who were not) were more likely to say that the presumed accomplice manipulated the perpetrator of the crime, leading them to be more likely to attribute to the accomplice the intent to commit the crime and to be harsher towards him.

Originality/value

The results of this research are discussed with a focus on naïve interpretations of influence in the very specific context of legal adjudication.

中文翻译：

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“他被洗脑了！” 法国的刑事同谋和判刑：解释“在影响下实施的犯罪”

目的

本文旨在检查是否有证词指称犯罪行为人受到共犯的影响，这对该同犯的刑罚轻重有影响。

设计/方法/方法

共有119名参与者阅读了一起武装抢劫案的摘要。采用了两个实验条件：证词的存在表明共犯在犯罪中对犯罪者的影响（相对于无证词）。然后，参与者被问到他们将对同谋判处什么刑罚，以及对犯罪人将判处什么刑罚，而事实上他们已经被判刑了。参与者对与犯罪解释有关的项目（认为犯罪者已被假定的同伙操纵）和与犯罪嫌疑人的意图有关的项目进行评分。

发现

当向参与者展示有关他的影响的证词时，参与者表现出对假定的同谋更加严厉，这减少了他们对犯罪者的判刑差距。调解分析表明，参与者的证言（与没有证言的人相对）更倾向于说假定的同伙操纵了犯罪者，从而使他们更有可能将同伙的意图归咎于犯罪。犯罪，对他更严厉。

创意/价值

讨论此研究的结果时，将重点放在在法律审判的非常特定的上下文中对影响的朴素解释。