PSYC 461: The Effect of Mental Illness on the Sentencing Outcome of a Murder Trial

We examined how a schizophrenia diagnosis affected the length of time that a defendant would be sentenced to prison for homicide. Participants either reviewed a case file that contained a diagnosis sheet or reviewed a case file that did not contain a diagnosis sheet. After reviewing the case file, participants answered a brief questionnaire regarding what their sentencing recommendation was and questions regarding their beliefs on mental illness. We hypothesized that the defendant with the schizophrenia diagnosis would receive a longer sentence than the defendant without the diagnosis. If this hypothesis can be supported, that is a reason to raise more awareness to the stigmatization that individuals with mental illness deal with daily