American Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Background: Decisions in criminal cases are expected to rely primarily on the available evidence, yet the emotional way case information is presented may affect how decision-makers interpret and respond to that evidence. Understanding this influence is important because sentencing judgments may be particularly sensitive to emotional responses.

Objective: This study examined whether the emotional presentation of information in a murder case affects judgments of guilt, perceptions of evidentiary quality, and recommended sentences.

Methods: Participants were presented with a hypothetical murder case in which the emotional tone of the case description, the quantity of evidence, and the strength of the evidence were systematically varied. After reviewing the case, participants indicated whether they considered the defendant guilty, recommended an appropriate sentence, and evaluated the amount and strength of the evidence as well as the emotional character of the case.

Results: Emotional presentation did not produce a significant change in judgments of guilt. In contrast, participants exposed to more emotionally charged case descriptions recommended significantly more severe sentences. The effect remained evident despite differences in the quantity and strength of the evidence, suggesting that emotional information can affect sentencing judgments without necessarily altering assessments of culpability.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that emotional presentation may operate as a source of bias during criminal decision-making, particularly when decision-makers determine the severity of punishment. Although emotionality did not appear to influence guilty verdicts in this study, its effect on sentencing highlights the importance of considering how language and case presentation shape legal judgments. Further research should investigate whether such effects vary according to characteristics such as race and socioeconomic status and whether differences in emotional presentation contribute to disparities in criminal justice outcomes.

Keywords: Emotional Presentation; Criminal Evidence; Juror Decision-Making; Guilt Judgments; Sentencing; Legal Decision-Making; Evidentiary Evaluation.