When the Offender Shows Sincere Remorse: an Analysis of the Construction of Remorse in the Context of Judicial Proceedings
Vol.32,No.4(2024)
Remorse is associated in law with considerable consequences. It is a mitigating circumstance in criminal law, its presence or absence is assessed when deciding on the award of compensation for non-pecuniary damage. The following text aims to contribute to a better understanding of what remorse actually means in the context of Czech legal proceedings and how the law treats this emotion. In doing so, I draw on social and constructivist theories, according to which emotions are constructed on the basis of shared social and cultural norms. In a judicial setting, inherent rules are created about how remorse should be “properly” expressed. In the text, I present a qualitative content analysis of Czech court decisions with a focus on the case law of the Supreme Court. Through the analysis, I answer the question of how regret is constructed in the context of Czech judicial proceedings. Although Czech courts do not explicitly define the concept of remorse, they distinguish between sincere and genuine pity and “insufficient” or calculated remorse. For the recognition of remorse, so-called evidence of remorse is required, which most often includes a guilty plea, a timeframe for the expression of remorse, compensation for damages and an apology to the victim. The analysis shows that the key is not the emotion itself but the specific acts that demonstrate it.
Remorse; Law and Emotion; Qualitative Content Analysis; Court Proceedings; Criminal Proceedings
641–662
BAGARIC, M., AMARASEKARA, K. Feeling Sorry? – Tell Someone Who Cares: The Irrelevance of Remorse in Sentencing. The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice. 2001, roč. 40, č. 4, s. 364–376. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2311.00215
BANDES, S. A. Remorse and Criminal Justice. Emotion Review. 2016, roč. 8, č. 1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073915601222
BANDES, S. Remorse and Judging. In: TUDOR, S. a kol. Remorse in Criminal Justice: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives. Routledge, 2022. ISBN 978-10-3210-476-8.
BANDES, S. A., BLUMENTHAL, J. A. Emotion and the Law. Annual Review of Law and Social Science. 2012, roč. 8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-102811-173825
BERGER, P. L., LUCKMANN, T. The Social Construction of Reality. Garden City, NY: Anchor Books, 1966. ISBN 978-0-385-05898-8.
CORICELLI, G., DOLAN, R. J., SIRIGU, A. Brain, emotion and decision making: the paradigmatic example of regret. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 2007, roč. 11, č. 6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2007.04.003
DUNCAN, M. G. So Young and So Untender: Remorseless Children and the Expectations of the Law. Columbia L. Rev. 2002, roč. 102. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1123791
FELDMAN, L. Jak se tvoří emoce. Přeložila Věra Klásková. Voznice: Leda, 2022.
FELDMAN BARRETT, L., RUSSELL, J. A. (eds.). The psychological construction of emotion. Guilford Publications, 2014. ISBN 1462516971.
FIELD, S., TATA, C. Criminal justice and the ideal defendant in the making of remorse and responsibility. Oxford; London; New York; New Delhi; Sydney: Hart, 2023. ISBN 978-1-5099-3991-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5040/9781509939947
GENDRON, M. The evolving neuroscience of emotion: challenges and opportunities for integration with the law. In: BANDES, S. A. a kol. Research Handbook on Law and Emotion. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2021. ISBN 978-1-78811-907-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788119085.00011
GILOVICH, T., MEDVEC, V. H., BJORK, R. A. The Experience of Regret: What, When, and Why. Psychological review. 1995, roč. 102, č. 2, s. 379–395. Dostupné z: https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.102.2.379
HAVELKOVÁ, B. Co a jak psát aneb obrana badatelských výstupů v právu. Jurisprudence. 2016, č. 6. ISSN 1802-3843.
HOCHSCHILD, A. R. The managed heart: commercialization of human feeling. Berkeley, Calif. London: University of California Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0-520-27294-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520951853
MURPHY, J. G. Remorse, apology, and mercy. Ohio St. J. Crim. 2006, roč. 4. Dostupné z: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1424709
NIEDERLOVÁ, M., ŠÍPEK, J. Psychodiagnostika jako psychologická aplikace. PSYCHOLOGIE PRO PRAXI. 2021, roč. 54, č. 2. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23366486.2020.8
OORSCHOT, I. van, MASCINI, P., WEENINK, D. Remorse in Context(s): A Qualitative Exploration of the Negotiation of Remorse and Its Consequences. Social & Legal Studies. 2017, roč. 26, č. 3, s. 359–377. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/096466391667903
PROEVE, M., TANVIR, T. When ‘I did it’ is not enough: content analysis of remorse in sentencing remarks. Current Issues in Criminal Justice. 2022, roč. 34, č. 3, s. 291–306. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10345329.2022.2085953
ROSSMANITH, K., TUDOR, S., PROEVE, M. Courtroom contrition: how do judges know? Griffith Law Review. Routledge, 2018, roč. 27, č. 3. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10383441.2018.1557588
SCHREIER, M. Qualitative content analysis in practice. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2012, s. 1–4. ISBN 978-1-84920-592-4.
ŠÁMAL, P. a kol. Trestní zákoník. 3. vyd. Praha: C. H. Beck, 2023.
ŠČERBA, F. a kol. Trestní zákoník. 1. vyd. (2. aktual.). Praha: C. H. Beck, 2022.
WEISMAN, R. Being and Doing: The Judicial Use of Remorse to Construct Character and Community. Social & Legal Studies. 2009, roč. 18, č. 1, s. 47–69. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0964663908100333
WEISMAN, R. Showing Remorse: Law and the Social Control of Emotion. London: Routledge, 2016. ISBN 978-1-315-60908-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315609089
WOOD, L. A., MACMARTIN, C. Constructing Remorse: Judges’ Sentencing Decisions in Child Sexual Assault Cases. Journal of Language and Social Psychology. 2007, roč. 26, č. 4, s. 343–362. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X07306979
ZEELENBERG, M., RIK, P. A Theory of Regret Regulation 1.0. Journal of Consumer Psychology. 2007, roč. 17, č. 1, s. 1–18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327663jcp1701_3
ZHONG, R. a kol. So you’re sorry? The role of remorse in criminal law. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law. 2014, roč. 42, č. 1. ISSN 1943-3662.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright © 2025 Zuzana Ambrozková