Taking Account of Race, Ethnicity and Religion (From Reform and Punishment: The Future of Sentencing, P 60-74, 2002, Sue Rex and Michael Tonry, eds. -- See NCJ-197122)

• NCJ Number: 197126
• Author(s): David Faulkner
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: Willan Publishing
• Publication Format: Book (Hardbound)
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter examines the significance of race, ethnicity, and religion in the context of sentencing discrimination and within the content of the Home Office Sentencing Framework Review or Halliday Report (2001) on sentencing reform in Britain.

Abstract

In this chapter, race, ethnicity, and religion are discussed in relation to sentencing and how it is approached within the Home Office Sentencing Framework Review or Halliday Report (2001) on sentencing reform in Britain. Discussing race, ethnicity, and religion in the context of sentencing is difficult. Avoiding discrimination and promoting equal opportunities is universally accepted in employment and the provision of services and a statutory requirement in respect to race. However, to impose such a requirement on the judiciary would be seen as an encroachment on its independence and a constitutional innovation. Yet, avoidance of discrimination and respect for diversity are necessary conditions on which the justice of the sentencing process depends. The Halliday Report has little to say about race, ethnicity, and religion. It recommends an extension of section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 to include a duty for the Secretary of State to publish information about the effectiveness of sentences and about any differences of approach between different courts. The information could include material about any differential impact on minority groups. The Report is silent and does not contain any discussion of its recommendations’ potential impact in terms of differential outcomes for racial, ethnic, or religious groups or the identification of such outcomes. Policies to prevent discrimination and promote respect for diversity in sentencing need to have measures relating to the criminal justice system and process, measures relating to the principles of sentencing generally, and measures set in the particular context of the government’s proposals for sentencing reform following the Halliday Report. Regardless of the implementation of the Halliday Report, there is the need to establish or re-establish the principles of sentencing in statutory form with the implications for race, ethnicity, and religion in mind and the objective of justice for all. References