# Defendants at trial, no remorse or reaction, how common? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 17, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defendants-at-trial-no-remorse-or-reaction-how-common/609797 "2012-01-17T15:03:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defendants-at-trial-no-remorse-or-reaction-how-common/609797/1 "2012-01-17T15:03:44Z")
A recent New Yorker article about a fourteen year old ‘boy’ who was convicted for murdering his grandfather and sentenced to life without parole, featured, as part of the sentencing, the crucial fact that he showed ‘no remorse’. [The actual murder was stipulated] I notice that almost every time I read or hear about a trial involving a capital crime, I hear things like “no remorse”, or “the defedant showed no visible remorse”. Perhaps I am biased since this is not scientific of course, but what is with the lack or remorse comments? Is this common? Are the defendants supposed to pull their hair out at trial? Also, whenver the jury gives the verdict, and presuming it is guilty, the defendants are always reported as having ‘no reaction’ to the verdict, although sometimes family members are reported to be ‘wailing’. How common is this? It seems like, according to the news broadcasts and articles about these trials, the defendants 1) never show remorse despite their lives on the line, and 2) never show reaction when verdict pretty much ends their (free) life. Am I deluded by the media or is there some weird psychology happening to criminal defendants where they are either incable of remorse (like a psychopath) or too dumb to fake it (not like a psychopath)? ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defendants-at-trial-no-remorse-or-reaction-how-common/609797/2 "2012-01-17T15:08:54Z")
What kind of reaction should one expect? Sobbing? Laughing? Pulling a Jerry Maguire on the judge? By the time a sentencing shows up (particularly for a major crime), the defendant knows what (s)he did, what the potential repercussions are, and (usually) what the sentence will be. Also, most folks who commit criminal acts while sober and sane don’t think they did anything wrong. Like, “yes, I killed him. He was doing horrible things and needed to be stopped.” ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defendants-at-trial-no-remorse-or-reaction-how-common/609797/3 "2012-01-17T15:40:16Z")
I have seen screams, protests, cries of anguish, pleas for mercy, silent tears, and yes mostly they remain silent. Most of the time their Counsel will have at least prepared them for the worst. Its not a surprise. BTW, why was a fourteen year old treated as an adult? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defendants-at-trial-no-remorse-or-reaction-how-common/609797/4 "2012-01-17T15:50:18Z")
There was a recent case here in Connecticut where a man declared his intention to murder his ex-wife from behind bars during his sentencing hearing (for kidnapping and arson). “I feel it’s a waste of time for me to rot in a cage for the rest of my life without a purpose,” he declared. “Killing Nancy Tyler gives me that purpose. Ending Nancy’s life while I’m in prison makes the sentence worthwhile.” He didn’t sound too remorseful. 😉 Link [here](http://articles.courant.com/2012-01-04/news/hc-shenkman-sentence-0105-20120104_1_richard-shenkman-claim-of-mental-illness-prosecutor-vicki-melchiorre). The judge was not impressed: she sentenced him to 70 years in prison. ---
**Author:** ![No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defendants-at-trial-no-remorse-or-reaction-how-common/609797/5 "2012-01-17T16:15:32Z")
> [@](#): > > at just after three in the morning, he raised the handgun, his arms trembling, and shot his grandfather in the head. “Man, I shot Papa!” he shouted. He put the gun on the floor and rushed into his grandmother Jean’s bedroom. She yelled for Dakotah to call 911. When officers from the police department in Niles, a rural town in southeast Michigan, arrived seven minutes later, Dakotah was waiting outside next to his grandmother. Tells about Dakotah’s arrest and his trial as an adult for first-degree murder, which in Michigan carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. [Source](http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/01/02/120102fa_fact_aviv) ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defendants-at-trial-no-remorse-or-reaction-how-common/609797/6 "2012-01-17T16:17:25Z")
Sociopaths and psychopaths don’t act like the rest of us. Maybe that is part of the reason for the unaffected behavior. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defendants-at-trial-no-remorse-or-reaction-how-common/609797/7 "2012-01-17T16:30:31Z")
The article the OP references notes that the killer expressed no remorse or emotion immediately after the shooting. He calmly explained what he had done and waited for police to arrive. He did in fact [express remorse at his sentencing](http://articles.wsbt.com/2010-10-25/parole_24803130). > [@](#): > > if I don’t regret this everyday then I truly am less than human. If I don’t regret what I did everyday then I do deserve to die in prison. Than I do deserve to die. And honestly if I could take it back I would. But there’s no such thing that allows me to do so. And right now I’m standing on leaded legs that are made of rubber. I’m barely able to keep from pissing my pants right now. My heart’s pounding in my chest. I can barely hear myself think. And the hardest part of this all is having to face my family. So Aunt Becky, Angie, to the Miles, and the Shepherds, I know you might not accept this apology, but I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all the pain you’ve went through. I’m sorry for all the hurt I’ve caused you. I’m sorry for everything I’ve done to the family. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defendants-at-trial-no-remorse-or-reaction-how-common/609797/8 "2012-01-17T16:40:42Z")
We had a case here recently where a group of teenagers accused of beating a man in a [knockout game](http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/victim-in-alleged-knockout-game-attack-calls-for-end-to/article_ca422ffc-ed64-570f-8e9d-945b5a04d271.html) had charges dismissed because the lead witness was too scared to testify. The teenagers high-fived each other on the way out of court. A couple of weeks later, the victim encountered one of the accused, who acted like he was going to hit the victim, then laughed and walked away. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defendants-at-trial-no-remorse-or-reaction-how-common/609797/9 "2012-01-17T16:55:37Z")
Well, if you are actually innocent, you can’t by definition feel guilt and remorse for something that you didn’t do (c.f. the sentencing scene in _Shawshank Redemption_). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defendants-at-trial-no-remorse-or-reaction-how-common/609797/10 "2012-01-17T17:37:20Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Well, if you are actually innocent, you can’t by definition feel guilt and remorse for something that you didn’t do (c.f. the sentencing scene in _Shawshank Redemption_). Yeah, but they’d probably react to being found guilty for a crime they didn’t commit. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/defendants-at-trial-no-remorse-or-reaction-how-common/609797/11 "2012-01-17T18:56:57Z")
Yeah, in a serious trial, it’s likely been a year or two. The defendant has been over the stories and probable outcomes ad nauseum with his lawyer. Where you might get a reaction from the defendant or audience is when the actual verdict is in question - Casey Anthony or OJ, for example. With the level of defence and the evidence, there is a real risk the person may or may not be convicted, and it’s a toss-up. Where the case is cut and dried, the defendant has known for a year or more that the only question is 30 years or 50 years or 3 times life…