When Forgetting Turns Fatal: Expert Testimony and Evidence Strength Influence Juror Emotion, Forgiveness, Counterfactual Thinking and Verdicts

Expert testimony and strong evidence supporting prospective memory failure reduced mock jurors’ other-condemning emotions, increased forgiveness and external counterfactual thinking, and led to fewer guilty verdicts. These effects were fully mediated through a serial pathway, highlighting how expert education can shape juror reasoning in emotional cases involving unintentional fatal outcomes.