NCJ Number
161053
Journal
Sociological Spectrum Volume: 15 Issue: 3 Dated: (July-September 1995) Pages: 277-297
Date Published
1995
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This study explored sentencing variations due to race among female offenders in Alabama, based on prison records of women committed to the Julia Tutwiler Prison between 1929 and 1985.
Abstract
Data were obtained on a total of 746 female homicide offenders. Race was reported as either black or white, and the race of both offender and victim was known in 685 cases. The unit of analysis was the homicide event, and regression results were divided into pre-Civil Rights Act years (1929-1964) and post- Civil Rights Act years (1965-1985). Despite the fact that few cases were interracial, sentencing patterns suggested that race of both offender and victim mattered. Bivariate results indicated that whites who killed interracially received generally light sentences of 1 to 5 years, while whites who killed intraracially received moderate to heavy sentences of 6 to 20 years. In contrast, 50 percent of cases involving black offenders and white victims received life sentences, while cases involving black offenders and black victims received light sentences. In post- Civil Rights Act years, the impact of offense charge on sentencing remained strong but the influence of any interracial nature of homicide declined. This finding was partially explained by the fact that more white women were sentenced to prison for murder during post-Civil Rights Act years. The author concludes that race must be accounted for when considering sentence outcomes and that further research is needed to study sentencing patterns for female offenders. 38 references, 5 footnotes, and 3 tables