Racial/Ethnic Threat and Plea Agreements: A Multilevel Contextual Analysis Examining the Incarceration and Sentence Length Decisions

• In Event: Plea Bargaining, Sentencing and Justice Outcomes

Abstract

Prior research has consistently demonstrated that race significantly influences the severity of plea agreements. In recent years, increased attention has been devoted to the severity of pleas because accepting a plea agreement generally reduces the punitiveness of the criminal sanction. While scholars have highlighted the salience of race and ethnicity, few studies have explored whether the racial and ethnic threat affects disparities in punishment severity following the acceptance of a plea agreement. Toward that end, the current study extends the sentencing research on plea agreements by using the Florida Sentencing Guidelines data to assess if the racial and ethnic composition of the county influences the incarceration and sentence length decisions after the acceptance of a plea agreement.

Authors

• Porche' A. Whitby, Florida State University

• Patricia Y. Warren, Florida State University

• Eric A. Stewart, Florida State University