The influence of remorse, intent and attitudes toward sex offenders on judgments of a rapist

Abstract

In clinical settings, sexual offenders-are encouraged to express remorse for their offending and acknowledge the extent to which they have acted intentionally. This study used a sample of 50 professionals, who regularly work with the victims and/or perpetrators of sexual offenses. A 2 × 2 design asked participants to make judgments on a short rape scenario varied on level of offender intent (spontaneous or planned) and offender remorse (remorseful or unremorseful). When acting with intent, the rapist was sentenced more punatively and rated as more to blame, more responsible, and more deserving of punish-ment. Ratings of the offender were strongly related to sentencing choice. Attitudes Towards Sex offenders were related to sentencing choice and were more predictive of sentencing type than the experimental manipulations. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the management of sexual offenders within the criminal justice system.

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