When people are seen as not being part of the community they live in they are often dehumanized, or treated as a lesser group of people whose lives have less value. These kinds of people are often referred to as “others.” This frequently happens in the criminal justice system after a person is given a case number. From this point on they are often thought of as “those people” (aka: other) who are separate and not like us.
The issue for the state often becomes what are we going to do with these people. The question of what are we going to do with “those” people who break the law is very different than what are we going to do we do when one of us breaks the law. It has become the exception when a criminal defendant gets treated like one of use, instead of one of them. Therefore to get a fair sentence for your client you must overcome the presumption that the Defendant is an “other” in order to get a fair sentence.
PROSECUTORS RESIST HUMANIZING DEFENDANT
Imposing tough sentences, and handing down convictions that will ruin a person's life is a lot easier to do when you don’t consider them a person. Because it is easier for the prosecutor to do their job without humanizing the Defendant they will resist treating them like humans, as people usually take the path of least resistance. As a result prosecutors often get defensive, and feel uncomfortable when you bring up the person behind the case.
It is very difficult to change the view of prosecutors who have been practicing for a long time. Calling them names for how they treat Defendants and engaging in Polemic Attacks will not work, and often make them double down.
The most effective Means Of Persuasion on this issue is the lawyer's credibility. The problem is a lawyer has less than 30 seconds to establish their credibility on this issue. But they can get a head start by showing how you treat people matters.
SHOULD WE REMIND JUDGES OF THE DEFENDANT’S HUMANITY
Just because you have been accused or convicted of a crime doesn’t mean that you should lose your humanity. I have always wondered how effective it is to remind judges and prosecutors of this. This is not to say that they should escape punishment for their crimes. But it does say that they should be treated like a person of the community, and that their lives still matter. It is also important that after they finish serving their sentence that they can be in a position to rejoin society and become a productive member.
CONCLUSION
There is a presumption that a person accused of a crime is worth less than someone else. This is often due to them being viewed as an “other” or “those people” who don’t deserve to live with us. Overcoming this presumption can be difficult because most prosecutors will resist viewing defendants as people. A lawyer’s credibility on this issue is the most effective way to persuade a prosecutor that the Defendant’s humanity matters, but he will probably have less than 30 seconds establish such credibility.
