Changing Forms of Racial Ethnic Biases in Sentencing

• NCJ Number: 104781
• Journal: Journal of Research Crime and Delinquency Volume: 24 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1987) Pages: 69-92
• Author(s): M S Zatz
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 24 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Literature Review
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

Racial/ethnic discrimination in criminal justice processing has been the subject of heated debate for several decades.

Abstract

This article traces findings from four historical waves of research on sentencing disparities. Particular attention is given to changes in research methodologies and data sources, the social contexts within which research has been conducted, and the various forms that bias can manifest. It explores the change from findings of overt racial/ethnic disparities to more subtle, but still systematic, institutionalized biases. In so doing, the movement toward determinate sentencing is discussed, and the biases identified are partially explained by the need for the system to maintain legitimacy in the face of social change. (Author abstract)