Bias and the Remorse Discount

The decision to credit a client’s remorse may make a difference at sentencing, but remorse is difficult to assess. People are overconfident in their ability to interpret mental states and sincerity: accuracy rates are no better than chance. Because the decision whether to believe an expression of remorse is subjective, it is a fertile area in which implicit bias can flourish. Professor Eve Hanan suggests steps that advocates can take to counteract bias in remorse assessments.