Popular literature, crime dramas and recent trials dominating the media imply that defense attorneys who portray their clients as victims may have better outcomes. The belief is that jurors assign less blame to defendants they feel have been wronged. New research from the University of Missouri has shown that offenders with genetic mental disorders that predispose them to criminal behavior are judged more negatively than mentally disordered offenders whose criminal behavior may have been caused by environmental factors, such as childhood abuse. Additionally, offenders with genetic mental disorders are judged just as negatively as offenders whose mental disorder is given no explanation.
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