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Study: LSU alumni judges give tougher sentences after football team loses

A new study has linked LSU football losses with harsher sentences from Louisiana judges who attended the school.

LSU economists Ozkan Eren and Naci Mocan detailed the correlation in a draft of their paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Black defendants in particular appear to suffer when a judge's favorite football team loses.

In cases observed for Louisiana, juvenile court judges have issued harsher punishments and longer sentences on black defendants after a loss by LSU. At times, when LSU was favored and upset by another team, judges were a bit more severe and handed down sentences that were a month longer than usual.