Perceptions of Justice - Race and Gender Differences in Judgments of Appropriate Prison Sentences

• NCJ Number: 102868
• Journal: Law and Society Review Volume: 20 Issue: 3 Dated: (1986) Pages: 313-334
• Author(s): J L Miller; P H Rossi; J E Simpson
• Date Published: 1986
• Length: 22 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This paper reports on research focused on measuring perceptions of justice vis-a-vis an examination of consensus in perceptions of appropriate punishments for convicted offenders.

Abstract

We used a factorial survey design to measure and analyze both the global judgments formed by individuals as well as the judgment-making principles that characterize the race by gender segments of the general population on one jurisdiction. A proximity-to-crime perspective leads us to expect structured similarities and differences in judgments of appropriate prison and differences in judgments of appropriate prison sentences. A global judgment agreement indicator suggests consensus across the race by gender segments of the Boston metropolitan area over which crimes are serious and trivial. The same indicator, however, shows dissensus within the general population regarding perceptions of appropriate levels of punishment. The research findings suggest that perceived or subjective proximity to crime has stronger implications than objective proximity for judgments of punishments for convicted offenders. The paper concludes that a sense of injustice in regard to punishments prevails for some segments of the general population. (Publisher abstract)