# "The defendant is showing no remorse, so let's thrown the book at him"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-defendant-is-showing-no-remorse-so-lets-thrown-the-book-at-him/703550>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [November 3, 2014, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-defendant-is-showing-no-remorse-so-lets-thrown-the-book-at-him/703550 "2014-11-03T20:54:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![justmeetee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@justmeetee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justmeetee)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-defendant-is-showing-no-remorse-so-lets-thrown-the-book-at-him/703550/21 "2014-11-04T18:16:23Z")

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> [@elbows](#):
>
> Are we now pretending that appearance and general attitude are not factors in trial or sentencing?  
> .

How is my saying the same thing in different words “knee jerk”?  
Anyone that looks different then society in general’s perception of normal is going to be at a disadvantage when in a courtroom. Would my pointing this out have been ok had the example the previous poster I quoted used a flamboyant cross dresser or a baggie pants skateboarder instead of a biker?  
The point I was making remains the same, if you come before the court looking or acting contrary to what they want to see you are starting from a negative position.

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**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2014, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-defendant-is-showing-no-remorse-so-lets-thrown-the-book-at-him/703550/22 "2014-11-04T18:21:23Z")

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People seem to be assuming that a defendant must either be remorseful or stone-faced. There are other emotions he or she can have - fear or disbelief for instance. Even sympathy for the victim.  
Plus, doesn’t the defendant get to make a statement before sentencing?  
When I was on a criminal jury (for a minor case) we didn’t get to do sentencing at all, the judge did it after we were dismissed.

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