The Use of Narrative to Shift Criminal Justice Attitudes

• In Event: Trauma and Healing: Examining Public Opinion and Policy Responses to Violence

Abstract

When given in person by the victim, there is evidence that victim impact statements have an impact on the length of sentences administered in criminal trials. Additionally, criminal justice attitude scales measure an individual’s view of justice-impacted individuals, and belief of rehabilitation can play a significant role in shaping public policy. Victim impact statements utilize storytelling, or the use of narrative, which may cause emotional teleportation for the listener, increasing empathy. This paper – based on a present study –will explore the effect of redemptive narrative on a participant’s attitudes towards the sentencing of justice-impacted individuals. Participants in this study watch a video of a restorative narrative about a justice-impacted individual, in both prose and poetic form. Then, participants complete a survey which evaluates their attitudes toward criminal sentencing policy. The sample of this study are three groups of students at Pennsylvania State University ont Alto, between the ages of 18-26. Findings from this research – expected in the Spring of 2024 – may indicate how effective the use of prose narrative is in comparison to poetic narrative, specifically in relation to people’s perceptions of justice-impacted individual.

Author

• Michael Thomas Vander Horst, Penn State University