During this simulation, I find myself giving weight to the risk of future violence when making my decision. I wanted to go in with an open mind but found myself just sticking to that main criterion. I felt confident with most of my decisions until a pop up arrived. When I was informed that a defendant did not show for court or that they committed another offense. I felt guilty for making the wrong decision. It made me second guess every decision from there on out.

This simulation was difficult because I didn’t really feel I had enough information to make an educated and informed decision. Upon finishing the exercise, I did some further reflection and realized that in each case the defendants face was blurred out, yet the color of their skin was plainly visible. Could this be a contributing factor to my decision making, even unconsciously? Why was this the case?

Overall this was great exercise. It really made me think about my inherent biases and how I make informed decisions.