Some Things Get Better with Age or Do They?: A Comparison of Sentence Outcomes for Younger and Older Offenders

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

Using data compiled by the United States Sentencing Commission, we examine whether older offenders sentenced in U.S. federal courts were shown leniency based on their age, compared with their younger counterparts. We pay particular attention to differences across gender, race/ethnicity, and offense type, as well as the interaction effects of age, race, and gender groups. Initial findings indicate that older offenders were sentenced less harshly – they were significantly less likely to be incarcerated than their younger counterparts however, if incarcerated, older offenders received significantly longer sentence length terms. These findings hold true across offense categories and also when age/race/gender groups were examined. These preliminary results indicate the need for continued exploration of issues dealing specifically with sentencing differences by age, as well as the variations found across race/ethnicity, gender and offense type.

Authors

• Jill Kathleen Doerner, University of Rhode Island

• Anita N. Blowers, University of North Carolina at Charlotte