Sentencing Departures and Female Defendants: Assessing the Effects of Racial and Ethnic Threat

Prior research exploring the effects of racial and ethnic threat has largely focused on the threat posed by minority males, with little attention devoted to understanding how threat accounts for variations in punishment among racial and ethnic female defendants. Using 2003-2012 data from Florida sen...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Warren, Patricia Y. (Author) ; Cochran, Joshua C. (Author) ; Shields, Ryan T. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2020
In: Crime & delinquency
Year: 2020, Volume: 66, Issue: 1, Pages: 59-92
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Keywords:
Sentencing departures
Racial threat
Gender
Description
Summary:Prior research exploring the effects of racial and ethnic threat has largely focused on the threat posed by minority males, with little attention devoted to understanding how threat accounts for variations in punishment among racial and ethnic female defendants. Using 2003-2012 data from Florida sentencing guidelines, we examine the odds of receiving an upward and downward departure among racial and ethnic females. The results suggest that Black and Latino females sentenced in counties with larger Black populations are more likely to receive an upward departure. However, in counties with larger Latino populations, the likelihood of an upward departure decreases for Blacks and Latinos. In addition, racial and ethnic population sizes do not significantly influence the odds of a downward departure.
ISSN:1552-387X
DOI:10.1177/0011128719839394