The effects of gender, family status, and race on sentencing decisions

Abstract

This study sought to determine the effects of family role, gender, and race on judges' sentencing decisions. To assess these effects, factorial surveys were sent to 360 Court of Common Plea judges who presided over criminal court cases in the state. Survey administration resulted in a 51% response rate. The findings indicate that defendants who were depicted as performing caretaker roles had a significantly decreased likelihood of incarceration. Further analysis found that the reduction in likelihood of incarceration for being a caretaker was larger for males than for females. Examination of the interaction of familial role with race found that familial role equally reduced the likelihood of incarceration for black and white females. Familial responsibility, however, resulted in a significantly greater decrease in likelihood of incarceration for black men than for white men.

Gender and Sentencing Outcomes in South Carolina

“…In particular, we were limited to measures that were collected by the Sentencing Commission, which excluded key measures such as the presence of dependent children, familial role, marital status, and plea bargaining that have been found to be influential in other sentencing studies (Daly, 1987;Freiburger, 2010;Koons-Witt, 2002;Kruttschnitt, 1982Kruttschnitt, , 1984Spohn & Biechner, 2000;Steffensmeier et al, 1993). First, the SC Sentencing Commission collected data for offenders convicted and sentenced to either state prison or probation.…”

“…Among other things, the sentencing decisions of judges take into account the familial duties that are performed by women such as caregivers and the presumed "costs" associated with removing these women from the household (Daly, 1987;Freiburger, 2010;Hartley, Kwak, Park, & Lee, 2011;Pierce & Freiburger, 2011). Among other things, the sentencing decisions of judges take into account the familial duties that are performed by women such as caregivers and the presumed "costs" associated with removing these women from the household (Daly, 1987;Freiburger, 2010;Hartley, Kwak, Park, & Lee, 2011;Pierce & Freiburger, 2011).…”

The Impact of Gender, Offense Type, and Familial Role on the Decision to Incarcerate

“…Bickle and Peterson (1991) and Freiburger (2010) found evidence to suggest that men benefited more than females for familial responsibilities. However, among females, only black women benefited from this role.…”

Stereotype‐based judgments of child welfare issues in cases of parent criminality

“…The research literature suggests that gender effects on the evaluation of judicial decision‐making can be moderated by the cultural background of a defendant (Freiburger, ; Pettit & Western, ). As the defendant was an African woman who worked as a “Madame” in a human trafficking network (for the prominent role of women in such networks see, for instance, Campana, ) in the original legal case on which we modeled our experimental scenario, we also included an experimental variation of the defendants' racial and ethnic background in our research design.…”

“…The relative paucity of empirical research on the role of gender in decisions concerning contact between incarcerated parents and their children is surprising for several reasons: first, the literature in related legal fields, especially criminal justice sentencing decisions, implies that so‐called extralegal factors (such as gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status of the accused party) can have a significant influence on the judicial outcome under certain circumstances (e. g., Freiburger, ; Mazzella & Feingold, ; Spohn & Beichner, ). Second, research from clinical psychological practice—particularly research on intercultural clinical counseling—shows that unconscious, internalized stereotypes and implicit attitudes can affect the relationship between counselors and their clients (e. g., Abreu, ; Niemann, ).…”