The Declining Significance of Race in Criminal Sentencing

• In Event: 4347 - Exploring Crime, Law and Deviance

Abstract

Research on criminal sentencing suggests that blacks who are convicted of felonies are sentenced more severely than similarly situated whites. The bulk of this prior work provides point-in-time estimates of racial disparities in a given jurisdiction, but no research examines a related question: Have racial disparities in criminal sentencing changed over time? Several lines of theory and prior research would suggest attenuation in black-white sentencing disparities. In the current study, we analyze decades of data and nearly two million sentenced cases from two jurisdictions to assess whether racial sentencing disparities have changed over time, and if so, what might explain the changes. Analyses of data from Minnesota and the federal courts indicate a decline in black-white racial disparities in sentencing since the early 1980s. Changes in the federal courts were largely driven by legal changes that altered the presumptive sentences, while changes in the exercise of judicial discretion was responsible for the declining racial disparities in Minnesota. Reasons for the changes and broader implications of the findings are discussed.

Authors

• Ryan D. King, The Ohio State University

• Michael Light, University of Wisconsin - Madison