Book contents
- Reviews
- Benign Bigotry
- Benign Bigotry
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 “It’s Just a Few Bad Apples”: The Denial of Systemic Inequality
- 2 “Those People All Look Alike”: The Myth of the Other
- 3 “They Must Be Guilty of Something”: The Myth of Criminality
- 4 “Feminists Are Manhaters”: Backlash Mythmaking
- 5 “LGBTQ People Flaunt Their Sexuality”: The Myth of Hypersexuality
- 6 “I’m Not a Racist, I’m Colorblind”: The Myth of Neutrality
- 7 “Affirmative Action Is Reverse Racism”: The Myth of Meritocracy
- Conclusion
- Index
3 - “They Must Be Guilty of Something”: The Myth of Criminality
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 November 2024
- Reviews
- Benign Bigotry
- Benign Bigotry
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 “It’s Just a Few Bad Apples”: The Denial of Systemic Inequality
- 2 “Those People All Look Alike”: The Myth of the Other
- 3 “They Must Be Guilty of Something”: The Myth of Criminality
- 4 “Feminists Are Manhaters”: Backlash Mythmaking
- 5 “LGBTQ People Flaunt Their Sexuality”: The Myth of Hypersexuality
- 6 “I’m Not a Racist, I’m Colorblind”: The Myth of Neutrality
- 7 “Affirmative Action Is Reverse Racism”: The Myth of Meritocracy
- Conclusion
- Index
Summary
Chapter 3 examines the common belief that those who are accused of crimes, particularly ethnic minorities, are probably guilty of something. The chapter begins by citing bias in news presentations of crime that reinforce the belief that people of color are criminally inclined. The process of criminalizing black and brown life begins early with disparities in discipline in schools resulting in the school-to-prison pipeline. Experiments on the shooting bias as well as actual police shootings is discussed next. The popularity of Stand Your Ground laws codifies white vigilantism. Biases that can enter all aspects of police investigation, criminal prosecution, sentencing, and the death penality are discussed. Experimental research exposing the role that harsh interrogations and false confessions in routing innocent suspects into the criminal legal system is presented as well. Juror behavior and their processing of evidence is also addressed in Chapter 3. The chapter concludes with suggested policy changes to prevent false confession and conviction, and toward more fairness in the criminal legal system.
Keywords
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- Chapter
- Information
- Benign BigotryThe Psychology of Subtle Prejudice, pp. 93 - 140Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024