Sounds of Prejudice: Background Music During Victim Impact Statements

Music has the ability to bring up past memories, to transport us to another place and time. Each specific song has its own unique connotation: “Pomp and Circumstance” with graduation, “Amazing Grace” with funerals, “Here Comes the Bride” with weddings, and “Stayin’ Alive” with John Travolta and disco. Even music we have never heard before has an effect on us and can change the mood of our current surroundings. It tells us when to feel anxious during scary movies; in happier ones, it lets us know when the guy is about to get the girl. Music’s powerful effect on emotion makes it a dangerous addition to the supposedly logic-and-reason-based setting of a courtroom. This added emotion makes it even more difficult for jurors to set aside their feelings and make rational decisions. Yet, numerous courts have somehow allowed music to be played at a time when emotional decisions can be very dangerous to a defendant: during his sentencing. Imagine the jurors trying to determine a sentence, after already convicting a defendant for murder, listening to the grief-stricken family of the victim describe how the crime has changed their lives. And at the conclusion of the already highly emotional testimony, the prosecutor presents a picture montage of the victim’s entire life, while Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” plays in the background. The court then