Prison Sentences among Incarcerated Inmates in China: Comparisons across Migrant Statuses

• In Event: Immigration and Sentencing

Abstract

Studies on judicial justice have revealed that defendants convicted of similar criminal offenses with similar legally relevant characteristics often receive different sentences, a phenomenon commonly referred to as sentencing disparity. The bulk of this research has been conducted in Western counties, especially the US, and has focused on race/ethnicity. By contrast, few studies have examined sentencing disparity in China. Moreover, given that China is largely homogeneous with respect to race, researchers must look elsewhere for likely determinants of disparities in sentencing. Our study extends the literature by considering the effect of migrant status on sentencing disparity in contemporary China. We examine whether migrant offenders tend to receive more severe legal punishment, and how the association between migrant status and punishment relates to sociodemographic and criminal profiles. These questions are explored with recently collected data for a sample of approximately 1,800 prisoners from four prisons in Southern China. Along with other findings, the analyses suggest that migrant offenders actually receive less severe punishment than their counterparts with local urban residence (Hukou), but this greater apparent leniency is accounted for by age. Migrant prisoners are younger on average than are non-migrant prisoners. Potential explanations of our findings and policy implications are discussed.

Authors

• Jianhong Liu, University of Macau

• Yunhan Zhao, University at Albany, SUNY

• Steven Messner, University at Albany, SUNY