Victim-Based Effects on Racially Disparate Sentencing in Ohio
Scholars have argued that African-American men accused of violently victimizing whites receive especially harsh treatment in court. This thesis was tested with samples of felony defendants processed in Ohio courts before and after the implementation of sentencing guidelines. During the preguideline period only, African-American men accused of victimizing whites were less likely than other defendants to plead guilty in exchange for reduced charges and/or sentences, and African-American men incarcerated for violent crimes against whites received longer sentences than other incarcerated offenders. During the postguideline period only, by contrast, the odds of pleading guilty in exchange for reduced charges were actually higher for African-American men accused of victimizing whites. African-American male prison terms significantly declined relative to incarcerated whites from the preguideline to the postguideline period. The interaction effect of defendant-victim race was significant during the preguideline period, not significant in the postguideline period, and significantly changed over time.
CUMULATIVE DISADVANTAGE: EXAMINING RACIAL AND ETHNIC DISPARITY IN PROSECUTION AND SENTENCING†
Current research on criminal case processing typically examines a single decision-making point, so drawing reliable conclusions about the impact that factors such as defendants’ race or ethnicity exert across successive stages of the justice system is difficult. Using data from the New York County District Attorney's Office that tracks 185,275 diverse criminal cases, this study assesses racial and ethnic disparity for multiple discretionary points of prosecution and sentencing. Findings from multivariate logistic regression analyses demonstrate that the effects of race and ethnicity vary by discretionary point and offense category. Black and Latino defendants were more likely than White defendants to be detained, to receive a custodial plea offer, and to be incarcerated—and they received especially punitive outcomes for person offenses—but were more likely to benefit from case dismissals. The findings for Asian defendants were less consistent but suggest they were the least likely to be detained, to receive custodial offers, and to be incarcerated. These findings are discussed in the context of contemporary theoretical perspectives on racial bias and cumulative disadvantage in the justice system.
The interaction of race, gender, and age in criminal sentencing: The punishment cost of being young, black, and male
Prior theory and research on sentencing oversimplify the role of race, gender and age in judicial decision making. In this article we present a “focal concerns” theory of judicial decision making to frame hypotheses regarding the effects on sentencing of these social statuses, both singly and in combination. Analyzing statewide sentencing outcomes in Pennsylvania for 1989–1992, we find that, net of controls: (1) young black males are sentenced more harshly than any other group, (2) race is most influential in the sentencing of younger rather than older males, (3) the influence of offender's age on sentencing is greater among males than females, and (4) the main effects of race, gender, and age are more modest compared to the very large differences in sentencing outcomes across certain age-race-gender combinations. These findings demonstrate the importance of considering the joint effects of race, gender, and age on sentencing, and of using interactive rather than additive models.