NCJ Number
175179
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 22 Issue: 2 Dated: Autumn 1997 Pages: 133-156
Date Published
1997
Length
24 pages
Annotation
Data collected and distributed by the United States Sentencing Commission for 5,557 cases in 1989 were used to examine sentencing disparities for black, Hispanic, and white males convicted under Federal sentencing guidelines for drug law offenses.
Abstract
The analysis included all cases for which complete data were available and that involved single-count drug charges. Results revealed that black persons convicted of cocaine offenses and Hispanic persons convicted of cocaine and marijuana offenses were sentenced more harshly than were white offenders after the data were controlled for legally relevant factors, socioeconomic factors, and legal contextual factors. Findings suggested that judges do not regard minority offenders as an amorphous group of nonwhites, because black and Hispanic sentencing outcomes differed not only from those of white persons but also from each other. Findings also suggested that the specific type of offense in terms of the type of drug possessed can produce differential racial and ethnic sentencing outcomes. Further research is recommended that disaggregates sentencing data by ethnicity with respect not only to drug offenses but also to other criminal offenses. Tables, footnotes, appended methodological information and further analyses, and 47 references