Determinants of Sentencing Variation - The Georgia Sample

• NCJ Number: 92801
• Author(s): T Orsagh
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 29 pages
• Grant Number(s): 79-NI-AX-0047
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: University of North Carolina
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study of the length of sentences received by incarcerated offenders found the most important determinant to be the seriousness of the offenses.

Abstract

The sample consisted of 3,713 offenders newly incarcerated by the Georgia criminal justice system. A theoretical model explained the sentencing decision as the result of an interplay between offense and offender characteristics with the cost of the imposition of sanctions. The model demonstrated that the most important determinants were seriousness of the offense and the offender's prior criminal history. The mode provided some support to the expectation that females would receive lighter sentences. The data did not support the contention that blacks and youths would receive harsher sentences. The court treated probation and incarceration as substitutable sanctions. Where crime rates were higher, the court chose shorter sentences. The court, faced with increasing caseloads, seemed to try to maintain a steady incarceration rate by reducing sentence rate in jurisdictions where crime rates were high. Tables, footnotes, and 59 references are given.