OBJECTIVE We examined whether various plea outcomes-including sentence reduction size (smaller, larger), type (traditional guilty plea, Alford plea), and frame (plea discount, trial penalty)-differentially affected innocent and guilty defendants' perceptions of the voluntariness of their guilty pleas. HYPOTHESES We hypothesized (1) guilty defendants would rate guilty pleas as more voluntary than would innocent defendants; (2) defendants would rate larger sentence reductions either as more voluntary than smaller sentence reductions because they feel more fair or as less voluntary because they feel harder to reject; (3) defendants would rate guilty pleas as more voluntary when the plea offer was framed as a discount compared with a penalty; (4) penalty framing would differentially affect defendants offered large versus small sentence reductions; and (5) Alford pleas would differentially affect guilty versus innocent defendants. METHOD Adults from Qualtrics Research Panels (N = 1,518; Mage = 59.22 years; 52% male; 83% White, non-Hispanic) played the role of a defendant in a simulated plea decision-making process. They were either innocent or guilty of the accusation. The prosecutor offered them a plea deal that varied in sentence reduction size (smaller, versus larger), type (traditional versus Alford plea), and frame (plea discount versus trial penalty). Participants then decided how to plead and rated the voluntariness of the decision-making process. RESULTS Plea outcomes affected innocent and guilty defendants in slightly different ways. Innocent and guilty defendants were less likely to plead guilty when the plea offer had a smaller compared with a larger sentence reduction. However, innocent defendants were less likely to plead guilty overall, required more prompting from their defense attorney to plead guilty, and rated the plea decision-making process as less voluntary than did guilty defendants. Innocent defendants also rated the plea decision-making process as less voluntary when offered a smaller compared with larger sentence reduction and when they were offered an Alford plea compared with a traditional guilty plea. Framing the plea offer as a discount or a penalty did not affect defendants' perceptions of voluntariness. CONCLUSION Variations in plea outcomes affect defendants' perceptions of voluntariness. Moreover, at least some courts' definitions of voluntariness do not align with how laypeople-and thus, possible defendants-view the same construct. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

---

无法拒绝的要约：认罪要约的大小会影响无辜但无罪被告对自愿的看法。


目的 我们研究了不同的认罪结果——包括减刑规模（更小、更大）、类型（传统认罪、阿尔福德认罪）和框架（认罪折扣、审判处罚）——是否对无罪和有罪被告对自愿认罪的看法产生不同的影响。他们的认罪。假设 我们假设 (1) 有罪被告比无罪被告更自愿认罪； (2) 被告会认为较大的减刑比较小的减刑更自愿，因为他们感觉更公平，或者较不自愿，因为他们感觉更难以拒绝； (3) 当认罪提议被表述为与处罚相比有折扣时，被告会认为认罪更加自愿； (4) 刑罚框架对减刑幅度较大和幅度较小的被告的影响不同； (5) 奥尔福德的认罪会对有罪被告和无罪被告产生不同的影响。方法 Qualtrics 研究小组的成年人（N = 1,518；Mage = 59.22 岁；52% 男性；83% 白人，非西班牙裔）在模拟认罪决策过程中扮演被告的角色。他们对这项指控要么是无辜的，要么是有罪的。检察官向他们提供了一份认罪协议，该协议在减刑规模（较小或较大）、类型（传统认罪与阿尔福德认罪）和框架（认罪折扣与审判处罚）方面有所不同。然后参与者决定如何辩护并评价决策过程的自愿性。结果 认罪结果对无罪和有罪被告的影响略有不同。与较大的减刑相比，当认罪提议较小时，无罪和有罪被告认罪的可能性较小。 然而，无辜被告总体上认罪的可能性较小，需要辩护律师更多的提示才能认罪，并且认为认罪决策过程不如有罪被告自愿。无辜被告还认为，与较大量的减刑相比，当提供较小量的减刑时，以及与传统有罪答辩相比，当他们获得奥尔福德答辩时，认罪决策过程的自愿性较低。将认罪提议视为折扣或惩罚并不影响被告对自愿性的看法。结论 认罪结果的变化会影响被告对自愿性的看法。此外，至少一些法院对自愿的定义与外行人士（以及可能的被告）对同一概念的看法不一致。 （PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2023 APA，保留所有权利）。