NCJ Number
48868
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science Volume: 52 Issue: 4 Dated: (NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 1961) Pages: 411-417
Date Published
1961
Length
7 pages
Annotation
TO EXAMINE RACIAL BIAS IN SENTENCING PRACTICES, DATA FOR 3,644 WHITE AND BLACK INMATES DERIVED FROM A 1958 SURVEY OF INMATES OF THE TEXAS STATE PRISON WERE ANALYZED.
Abstract
ORIGINAL DATA WERE SECURED FROM THE PRISON CLASSIFICATION AND IDENTIFICATION DEPARTMENT AND INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION: RACE, TYPE OF OFFENSE FOR WHICH COMMITTED, NUMBER OF PREVIOUS FELONIES FOR WHICH CONVICTED, NATURE OF PLEA BEFORE COURT, COUNTY FROM WHICH COMMITTED, AND NUMBER OF YEARS SENTENCED. FROM THESE DATA. PRISONERS WERE CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO LENGTH OF SENTENCE AND CHARACTERISTICS EXCLUDING RACE AND ALSO ACCORDING TO LENGTH OF SENTENCE AND RACE WITH OTHER CHARACTERISTICS HELD CONSTANT. FOR PURPOSES OF THE STUDY, SENTENCES LESS THAN 10 YEARS WERE DEFINED AS BEING SHORT, AND THOSE OVER 10 YEARS AS LONG. A NUMBER OF NONRACIAL FACTORS WERE FOUND TO AFFECT THE LENGTH OF PRISON SENTENCES. A SUBSTANTIAL RELATIONSHIP, REFLECTIVE OF THE RELATIVE SERIOUSNESS OF THE OFFENSE, WAS FOUND BETWEEN SENTENCE LENGTH AND TYPE OF OFFENSE. PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS FOR FELONIES DOES NOT APPEAR TO AFFECT SIGNIFICANTLY THE LENGTH OF SENTENCE. PRISONERS PLEADING GUILTY WERE GIVEN SHORT SENTENCES IN A SIGNIFICANTLY GREATER PROPORTION THAN THOSE PLEADING NOT GUILTY. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COUNTY FROM WHICH COMMITTED ALSO APPEAR TO INFLUENCE SENTENCE LENGTH, WITH THOSE FROM EAST TEXAS RECEIVING PROPORTIONATELY LONGER SENTENCES THAN THOSE FROM WEST TEXAS, AND PRISONERS FROM AREAS WITH LARGE CITIES TENDING TO RECEIVE LONGER SENTENCES THAN THOSE FROM AREAS WITH SMALL CITIES. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT LEGAL NORMS ARE NOT THE ROLE FACTORS IN SENTENCE DETERMINATIONS. MOREOVER, THESE EFFECTIVE NONRACIAL FACTORS TEND TO OPERATE TO THE THE DISADVANTAGE OF THE BLACK OFFENDER WHO IS MORE LIKELY THAN HIS WHITE COUNTERPART TO COMMIT OFFENSES AND COME FROM THOSE AREAS WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH RELATIVELY LONGER SENTENCING. WITH NONRACIAL FACTORS CONTROLLED, RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN SENTENCING PATTERNS WERE ALSO FOUND. FOR INSTANCE, JURIES TEND TO GIVE BLACKS CONVICTED OF MURDER OR RAPE SHORTER SENTENCES THAN THOSE GIVEN TO WHITES CONVICTED OF MURDER OR RA=E; WHILE BLACKS CONVICTED OF BURTGLARY TEND TO RECEIVE LONGER SENTENCES THAN WHITES CONVICTED OF THE SAME OFFENSE. THESE INDULGENT AND NONINDULGENT SENTENCING PATTERNS FOR BLACKS AND WHITES APPEAR TO OPERATE REGARDLESS OF AREAS FROM WHICH COMMITTED, NATURE OF PLEA, OR PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS. IT IS SUGGESTED THAT RACIAL DISCRIMINATION APPEARS TO BE MOTIVATED MORE BY A DESIRE TO PROTECT THE ORDER OF THE WHITE COMMUNITY THAN TO AFFECT THE REFORM OF THE OFFENDER. FINDINGS PROVIDE FURTHER VALIDATION FOR THE CONTENTION THAT CRIMINAL JUSTICE STATISTICS REFLECT THE SOCIAL CUSTOMS, VALUES, AND PREJUDICES OF THE COMMUNITY. SUPPORING DATA ARE PROVIDING. (JAP)