Department of Criminal Justice California State University - Bakersfield CRJU 330 Race, Ethnicity and Criminal Justice Dr. Abu-Lughod, Reem Ali RACE & SENTENCING

n Studies generally show that AA and Hispanics are more likely than whites to receive harsher punishments for similar offenses n However other studies show that race plays a very small role in determining final sentencing decisions in the CJ system

n Social class though plays a very important role in the sentencing process, and more likely than not, AA and Hispanics particularly those who commit street crimes will face harsher punishments, and will less likely be represented by an adequate public defender. Those who belong to the middle and upper will have a “private attorney” representing them

n FOUR EXPLANATIONS FOR RACIAL DISPARITIES IN SENTENCING 1. AA and Hispanics commit more serious crimes and have more serious prior criminal records than whites. This means racial disparity but not racial discrimination 2. More likely than whites to be poor, being poor is associated with a greater likelihood of pretrial detention and unemployment, both may lead to harsher punishment. This means indirect (economic) discrimination

3. Judges are biased or have prejudices against racial minorities. This means direct racial discrimination 4. Disparities occur in some context but not in others. This means subtle (contextual) discrimination

n ARE CRIME SERIOUSNESS AND PRIOR CRIMINAL RECORD “LEGALLY RELEVANT” VARIABLES ? n Some argues that if judges base their decisions on these two legal factors to sentence offenders, then they are making legitimate decisions that are racially neutral. Is this TRUE? Or do we have more prosecutors filing more serious charges against minorities than whites who engage in the same crimes. Or if police target particular neighborhoods that are populated with racial minorities, that may be race linked

CONFLICT THEORY AND SENTENCING OUTCOMES n Sentencing varies according to the extent to which the behaviors of the powerless conflict with interests of the powerful. Also it matters whether the crime committed is interracial or intra-racial

WHEN DOES RACE MATTER? F In some studies (Darrell Steffensmeier) race, after controlling for some legal factors, did not play a major role in determining sentencing procedures F However, recent studies (Steffensmeier, Kramer, and Ulmer) looked at race, gender and age to determine sentencing patterns. Found that young black men are more likely to be punished harshly for crimes committed

F However, they also concluded that other factors may have played a role F For instance, in the Pennsylvania study, the researchers found that none of the following factors (race, gender, ethnicity, age, employment status) had a significant effect on the length of the sentence but on the decision to incarcerate or not in the three jurisdictions (Chicago, Miami and Kansas)

F Another issue is that young, black, unemployed racial minorities are targeted and punished more severely because they are seen as a threat to the community PLEASE REFER TO SOME OF THE EXAMPLES PROVIDED BY YOUR AUTHORS IN THE BOXES WITHIN THE CHAPTER. ALSO, READ SOME ON THE “FOCUS ON THE ISSUE” PARTS YOUR AUTHORS PROVIDE. PLEASE BE PREPARED TO DISCUSS THEM IN CLASS

SENTENCING AND THE WAR ON DRUGS u Michael Tonry in Malign Neglect talks about why black American males are disproportionately incarcerated despite their crimes being leveled over the past 20 years u He argues that the WAR ON DRUGS only targeted minorities in particular neighborhoods

u It used to be that 500 grams of powder cocaine and 5 grams of crack triggers a mandatory sentence of 5 years minimum. This was eventually challenged and the U.S. sentencing commission recommended that the 5 year min sentence for crack be increased to at least 25 grams and the 10-year mandatory sentence be increased to 250 grams. Most involved in crack cocaine are AA

CONCLUSION u Different studies yield different results u While some argue that there is racial discrimination in the CJ system particularly in the sentencing process, other studies do not find that there are direct effects

u The authors argue that perhaps it has become difficult to detect discrimination in the CJ system because of the different factors that actually do play a role u Contextual discrimination is what is taking place