Exploring the Interaction of Offender Gender, Race, and Age in Pennsylvania Murder Case Outcomes

• In Event: The Influence of Gender, Race, and Age on Sentencing Disparity

Abstract

Though legal factors are the strongest predictors of sentencing outcomes, research has shown evidence of gender, race, and age disparity in sentencing. Steffensmeier, Ulmer, and Kramer’s (1998) focal concerns perspective suggests the importance of examining the joint effects of gender, race, and age on sentencing outcomes. In Pennsylvania, first- and second-degree murders carry a minimum of mandatory life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, and there is substantial disproportionality in the numbers of black and Hispanic males convicted of first- and second-degree murder, and receiving life without parole and death sentences. What is unknown, however, is the extent to which this disproportionality stems from disparity in discretionary case processing and sentencing decisions. Using a newly created dataset integrating court and prosecution files with sentencing and corrections data for first-, second-, and third-degree murder charges in Pennsylvania from 2000-2010, we assesses the main and interactive effects of gender, race, and age on the likelihood of first- or second-degree murder conviction, and sentence severity.

Authors

• Brandy R. Parker, Pennsylvania State University

• Jeffery Ulmer, Pennsylvania State University