Skin Color and the Criminal Justice System: Beyond Black‐White Disparities in Sentencing

Abstract

This article analyzes sentencing outcomes for black and white men in Georgia. The analysis uses sentencing data collected by the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC). Among first-time offenders, both the race-only models and race and skin color models estimate that, on average, blacks receive sentences that are 4.25 percent higher than those of whites even after controlling for legally-relevant factors such as the type of crime. However, the skin color model also shows us that this figure hides important intraracial differences in sentence length: while medium-and dark-skinned blacks receive sentences that are about 4.8 percent higher than those of whites, lighterskinned blacks receive sentences that are not statistically significantly different from those of whites. After controlling for socioeconomic status in the race-only and race and skin color models the remaining difference between whites and dark-and mediumskinned blacks increases slightly, to 5.5 percent. These findings are discussed with respect to the implications for public policy and for racial hierarchy in the United States.He was wowed by Obama's oratorical gifts and believed that the country was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially one such as Obama-a " light-skinned" African American " with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one," as he said privately.-Senator Harry Reid, as quoted in Game Change

Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System: Prevalence, Causes, and a Search for Solutions

“…Blacks and Hispanics charged with misdemeanors or felonies in Manhattan were more likely to receive sentences involving incarceration than were Whites (Kutateladze et al., ). First‐time offenders in Georgia received longer sentences if they were Black rather than White, even after controlling for crime severity and socioeconomic status (Burch, ). Harsh sentences for repeat offenders, like three‐strikes laws that mandate life sentences for those convicted of three felonies, contribute to the racial disparities in prison populations.…”

“…Being more phenotypically African in appearance (e.g., darker skin, wider nose, and thicker lips)—as opposed to expressing a more European facial phenotype—is also related to harsher sentencing of Black offenders. For example, the racial disparity in sentencing among first time‐offenders in Georgia was primarily driven by more severe sentencing of Black offenders with darker skin; Black offenders with lighter skin received sentences similar to those received by White offenders (Burch, ). Similarly, an examination of the sentences of a random sample of offenders in the Florida corrections database revealed that offenders with a more African facial phenotype received longer sentences than did those with a more European phenotype (Blair, Judd, & Chapleau, ).…”

Judging the Judiciary by the Numbers: Empirical Research on Judges

“…Another disturbing study on sentencing in Georgia demonstrated that skin color influenced judges' sentencing decisions (Burch 2015). For decades, Georgia recorded the skin tone of all criminal defendants, using nine categories.…”

Racial categories in machine learning

“…While they draw the connection between phenotype and race, they note that racial categories are unstable and that phenotype can vary widely within a racial or ethnic category. Indeed, it is neither the case that race can be reduced to phenotype, nor that phenotype can be reduced to race: there is broad empirical evidence that shows that intraracially among people identified as black, the lighter skinned are treated favorably by schools and the criminal justice system compared to those with darker skin [9,38,53].…”