Gender and Sentencing Outcomes in South Carolina

Abstract

Despite sentencing reforms over the last few decades, many states failed to introduce guidelines, including South Carolina. The present article uses data collected from the now disbanded South Carolina Sentencing Commission (1982Commission ( to 2003 in order to assess the influence of gender, age, race, and type of crime. We found that females were consistently sentenced more leniently than were similarly situated males. Interactions between gender and the other variables, however, failed to gain significance with the exception of gender and offense type for the sentence length decision. Interestingly, we found a significant interaction between gender and offense severity level for both sentencing outcomes and criminal history for the incarceration decision. We discuss the implications of these findings in the event that South Carolina would have adopted sentencing guidelines.

“I’m Wise to the Game”: How Inner-City Women Experience and Navigate Police Raids

“…As our data reveal, women in our study adhered to stereotypes of women as docile, weak, and vulnerable when they perceived it would benefit them. Their efforts to enact emphasized femininity in the hopes of receiving better police treatment are consistent with the chivalry hypothesis, which finds women who adhere to traditional, heteronormative gender expectations are treated more leniently ( Branscombe & Owen, 1991 ; Franklin & Fearn, 2008 ; Koons-Witt, 2002 ; Koons-Witt et al, 2014 ).…”

The Overall and Gendered Effects of Postrelease Supervision on Recidivism: A Propensity Score Analysis

“…In terms of criminal sentencing, studies have also found that women are sentenced more leniently than men (Doerner & Demuth, 2014; Koons-Witt, Sevigny, Burrow, & Hester, 2014; Spohn, 1999), though the type of crime committed (Rodriguez, Curry, & Lee, 2006), age of the offender (Steffensmeier, Ulmer, & Kramer, 1998), and incarceration decisions (jail vs. prison) can affect these relationships (Freiburger & Hilinski, 2013). Rodriguez and colleagues (2006) found that for both property- and drug-offending women were less likely to be sentenced to prison and also received shorter sentences.…”

Women Incarcerated in Rural Southern Prisons in the United States: A Review of Existing Multidisciplinary Literature and Suggestions for Future Directions

“…Although studies conducted in the South conclude that generally, women receive greater leniency in sentencing than men, this chivalry is dependent on a woman's race/ethnicity, type of crime committed, and seriousness of the offense (Koons-Witt et al, 2014;Crawford, 2000). For example, a study using data from the South Carolina Sentencing Commission from 1982-2003 found that women were sentenced more leniently than men in terms of both the decision to incarcerate and sentence length, supporting the chivalry hypothesis (Koons-Witt et al, 2014). Women were denied leniency, however, as their crimes increased in severity.…”