NCJ Number
132102
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 35 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1991) Pages: 7-19
Date Published
1991
Length
13 pages
Annotation
The effects of race on sentencing were examined for 666 felony offenders in a metropolitan County in Ohio.
Abstract
The sentencing guidelines used in this jurisdiction were the felony sentencing worksheet (FSW) which provides a numerical assessment of the seriousness of the crime for which the offender is being sentenced and the seriousness of his prior record. Statistical analyses of the data indicated that whites were significantly more likely to be incarcerated than blacks after adjusting for crime seriousness and prior record. Looking at the nonobvious case as determined by the FSW, whites were 2.5 times more likely to be imprisoned than were blacks. No sentence length was found upon examination of sentence length among those imprisoned. However, among those offenders who were placed on probation, significantly harsher probation terms were imposed on whites than were imposed on blacks. The racial discrimination appears to be a function of leniency toward black defendants rather than anti-white bias, since both races largely receive categories which plainly indicate whether probation or prison is warranted. 15 references (Author abstract modified)