NCJ Number
96733
Date Published
Unknown
Length
35 pages
Annotation
This discussion highlights the importance of gender and race as critical variables in criminal justice system processing.
Abstract
It presents a historical assessment of the processing of black and white females; examines characteristics of female offenders; analyzes court processing, noting sex differences in pleas, plea bargaining, and sentencing; reviews the experience of sentencing reform in Minnesota; and reports on changes in the commitment and incarceration of women in Michigan over a 10-year period. The lot of female offenders is reported to have worsened. Black women are indicated to be overrepresented in the criminal justice system, and factors that contribute to female criminality are believed stronger than ever before. An examination of crimes where females predominate reveals large differences in treatment in plea bargaining, in rates of guilty pleas, and in sentence bargaining. Women were found less able to bargain effectively and were more often willing to plead guilty to the original charge. They were less likely to have their charges reduced during the pleas process and fared less well in sentencing bargaining. A 1982 evaluation of Minnesota's sentencing guidelines shows that disparity in sentencing decreased with greater uniformity and proportionality, but minority offenders received somewhat more severe sanctions than did whites. The commitment rate for females declined to 5.5 percent, considerably below the expected 9.2 percent level, and the female prison population declined from 80 to 56 persons. In 1968-78, the percentage of nonwhite offenders grew throughout the Michigan prison population, but it grew faster for females. Thirty-nine references are included.