The effect of deliberation on jury verdicts

As ordinary citizens, jurors bring to court a diversity of emotions and views about crime, punishment and terrorism (see Chap. 9). They may also have different preferred styles of learning, and different capacity for empathy. For some, their dispositions may be so entrenched that the jury experience cannot budge them—not the evidence, nor the judge’s instructions,nor even deliberation with fellow citizens. On the other hand, it is likely that many jurors enter the courtroom with a variety of expectations and prejudices, but that participatory immersion in the experience of the criminal justice process will shape and shift at least some of these views.