The research focuses on examining the racial and ethnic disparities in criminal sentencing within the criminal justice system. Sentencing is one of the most highly utilized ways of reforming individuals, and it is also a form of punishment that can define the perception of individuals in society of the criminal justice system. Due to systematic inequalities in the legal system and the criminal justice system, it is more likely for ethnic and racial differences among individuals to result in significant differences in their experiences within the criminal justice system, particularly in regard to sentencing. Exploring this topic is essential in that it provides insights into the effects of systematic inequalities in the criminal justice system, influencing how these differences determine the rates of sentencing, the period that one serves, and their experiences in the facilities. The aim of this study is to explore and analyze the existing data and studies that explore sentencing practices, the patterns of disparity in sentencing practices, the contributing factors, and the possible interventions that can be put into place to address the issue. Through this, the study seeks to facilitate fairer and more just sentencing practices that are not based on ethnic and racial differences that lead to discriminatory sentencing practices. The research hypothesizes that ethnic and racial minorities are more likely to be subjected to unfair and harsh sentencing practices compared to their white counterparts.
Literature Review
Several studies have been conducted to explore the racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system. Theories have also been developed to explain the racial and ethnic disparities in criminal justice. In particular, the conflict theory, as developed by C. Wright Mills, points out that the mechanisms used in law enforcement by the majority of the dominant group in a society aim at minimizing threats posed by those who are labeled the dangerous population and this mostly constitutes of the poor and the minority groups (Black, 2014). In such a case, the minority will have more harsh and unfair experiences in the justice system. Due to power differences, the theory holds that the minority will always be subjected to unfair treatment in the justice system, with the enforcement of the laws and the distribution of punishment being done in a discriminatory manner. The distribution of punishment and the enforcement of the laws are all aimed at ensuring that the majority group remains strong and has power over the minority group.
Crutchfield et al. (2010) explored the racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system and found out that African Americans are more likely to be subjected to the highest bail in the criminal justice system even when they are unable to pay. Moreover, even by being granted bail, African Americans were less likely to be released compared to white American defendants, although the statistics showed that Latinos were the most negatively affected by the disparities. 80% of African Americans tend to be more likely to be denied bail in pretrial drug offenses, while the statistics stand at 67% for Latino defendants (Crutchfield et al., 2010). Essentially, black Americans and Latinos tend to be more likely to be arrested, even for marginal cases in which the whites will not receive any form of punishment. These statistics are supported by King and Light (2019), who established that blacks and Hispanics convicted of felonies are more likely to receive prison sentences for their crimes and that when they do, their sentences are bound to be longer compared to those of whites. However, unlike Crutchfield et al. (2010), King and Light (2019) establish that the racial and ethnic disparities in the justice system have significantly declined over the years, especially as observed in the existence of similar lengths of sentencing for comparable crimes between African Americans and whites. Despite the magnitude of racial and ethnic disparities having declined significantly, it is still clear that Latinos and African Americans are still negatively affected by the existing racial disparities in the justice system.
Besides the differences in the likelihood of being sentenced, sentences to life form another distinctive aspect of the American system of criminal punishment (Johnson et al., 2021). By analyzing the sentencing data between 2010 and 2017, this study showed that Hispanic and black offenders are more likely to receive life sentences under the federal guidelines, although, on the condition on being eligible, they are not more likely to receive life sentences. Blacks tend to be more likely than whites to end up being convicted in trials and also have the minimum sentence imposed on them. Moreover, Hispanics tend to have reduced odds of receiving life sentences even when they are eligible, an aspect that Johnson et al. (2021) attributed to their disadvantages in their life eligibility. Studies have also shown that Blacks and Latinos are more likely to receive an upward departure in sentencing (Warren et al., 2020). In a study to examine sentencing departures among female defendants, Warren et al. (2020) showed that racial and ethnic population sizes do not always influence downward departures but tend to influence upward departures. By analyzing data from the Department of Corrections, showed that Latinos and Blacks always receive an upward departure and are less likely to experience a downward departure, even when their current state and behavior allow for them to be subjected to the downward departures. Essentially, racial tensions and discrimination tend to be more entrenched for the Blacks than the Latinos, hence why the Blacks tend to be subjected to an upward departure than the other convicted felonies.
However, these racial disparities have significantly been affected by sentencing reforms in the criminal justice system, as seen in the case of California’s Proposition 47. The proposition redefined a series of felonies and offenses, resulting in a 15% decline in the rates of drug arrests, a 20% increase in property crime arrests, and a shift of arrests away from felonies to misdemeanors (Lofstrom et al., 2019). Following this, the reforms resulted in a significant decline in arrests and sentencing among African Americans and Hispanics relative to whites (Lofstrom et al., 2019). This significantly reduced the number of individuals in jails and, thus, the overall incarnation rates for African Americans, especially among males. However, the impact of this reform in reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the healthcare system is limited by the fact that the reform is only effective in a single state and, as a result, cannot have a major influence on the experiences of the blacks and the Latinos in other states. According to Stewart et al. (2017), the number of individuals under criminal justice supervision is significantly high, with the number of blacks currently imprisoned being more than those imprisoned in South Africa during the peak of apartheid. If this trend continues, then prisons will become a normal transition to adulthood among minority groups rather than being a rare event (Stewart et al., 2017). In most cases, the effects of race and ethnicity are usually conditioned by criminal history (Franklin & Henry, 2020). Such concerns and racial stereotypes that reflect themselves in the current statistics on racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system. Notably, the reviewed studies consistently show that racial and ethnic disparities in sentencing practices play a central role in the harsh practices and experiences of minority groups.
Discussion of Findings
The reviewed literature shows that racial and ethnic disparities exist in the criminal sentencing system. Mostly, blacks and Hispanics tend to be subjected to strict and harsh sentencing practices, even when they have committed crimes that are similar to those committed by Whites. Here, it is worth noting that most of the prosecutors in the criminal justice system and the police tend to be whites who find it necessary to subject blacks and Hispanic people to harsh and unfair sentencing practices. According to the conflict theory, this move can be seen as a way of preserving the superior status of the whites, who tend to perceive the blacks as being dangerous regardless of whether the crimes that they have committed are similar to those committed by the whites. While in the prisons, the studies have also shown that the minority groups, and especially the blacks, are more likely to be subjected to upward departure, which involves being subjected to more severe punishment than the other groups. All these studies point to the fact that blacks are significantly unfavored by the criminal justice system as it is, and instead of being fairly punished, their punishment tends to exceed the appropriate or desired limits.
The experiences of the blacks in the criminal justice system can be related to the stereotypes and the history that the blacks have with crime. Historically, blacks are the major offenders, an aspect that made them perceived as being a source of danger in every situation. Besides, blacks have also heavily been associated with drug offenses and other criminal activities such as robbery, which makes them the focal point of the criminal justice system. The perception of the whites towards the blacks as a source of danger informs the harsh interventions and treatments in the criminal justice system, especially when the majority feel threatened by the actions of the minority. The inability of minority groups who, due to their low economic levels, find it difficult to pay bail, end up in prisons like most whites who, even after committing crimes, are able to pay the required bail. However, in such a case, the ability to pay is not always the defining factor, as the minority can fail to be given an option for bail.
Limitations and Policy Implications
The limitation of the study is that it does not take into account the current data on the trends in sentencing, especially considering that the reviewed studies use data that is at least one year old. Based on theses studies, it is clear that the policy makers should come up with interventions to reduce the harsh and adverse sentencing practices that are imposed on blacks even after committing similar crimes to whites. The judges should be granted more authority in sentencing rather than coming up with a sentencing duration based on the strict sentencing guidelines that can place the minority groups in prison for longer periods than they should be. The criminal justice personnel should also be trained on how to avoid bias in their practices to ensure that regardless of their ethnic or racial background, an offender will always be subjected to similar sentencing practices. Through this, impartiality, fairness, and cultural competence in the decision-making processes of the criminal justice personnel will be enhanced. These practices will play a major role in reducing the current racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system.
Conclusion
In conclusion, racial and ethnic disparities in the sentencing practices still remain a major challenge that has proven to be challenging to address. These disparities are seen in cases where the minority groups in the criminal justice system tend to be subjected to harsh and more biased decisions and practices that significantly vary from the decisions and the practices that the majorities in the same system with the same crimes can be subjected to. Despite of some states having came up with reforms to address these disparities, the experiences of the blacks in the system still remain to be a challenge that influences the perception of the criminal justice systems by the blacks and other minority groups. To address this problem, there is a need for policymakers to come up with training programs for criminal justice personnel on how to avoid bias in their practices and also to grant judges more authority to determine sentencing periods in a more flexible manner.
References
Black, P. (2014). Conflict theories of crime. The encyclopaedia of criminology and criminal justice. Wiley Blackwell. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pamela-Black-4/publication/282816469_Conflict_Theories_of_Crime/links/56bb542708ae090818680cad/Conflict-Theories-of-Crime.pdf
Crutchfield, R. D., Fernandes, A., & Martinez, J. (2010). Racial and ethnic disparity and criminal justice: How much is too much?. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973-), 100(3), 903-932. https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7366&context=jclc
Franklin, T. W., & Henry, T. K. S. (2020). Racial disparities in federal sentencing outcomes: Clarifying the role of criminal history. Crime & Delinquency, 66(1), 3-32. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0011128719828353
Johnson, B. D., Spohn, C., & Kimchi, A. (2021). Life lessons: Examining sources of racial and ethnic disparity in federal life without parole sentences. Criminology, 59(4), 704-737. https://ccjs.umd.edu/sites/ccjs.umd.edu/files/pubs/Criminology%20-%202021%20-%20Johnson%20-%20Life%20lessons%20%20Examining%20sources%20of%20racial%20and%20ethnic%20disparity%20in%20federal%20life%20without%20parole_0.pdf
King, R. D., & Light, M. T. (2019). Have racial and ethnic disparities in sentencing declined?. Crime and Justice, 48(1), 365-437. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ryan-King-30/publication/331078568_Have_Racial_and_Ethnic_Disparities_in_Sentencing_Declined/links/6452af314af788735257259e/Have-Racial-and-Ethnic-Disparities-in-Sentencing-Declined.pdf
Lofstrom, M., Martin, B., & Raphael, S. (2020). Effect of sentencing reform on racial and ethnic disparities in involvement with the criminal justice system: The case of California’s proposition 47. Criminology & Public Policy, 19(4), 1165-1207. https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/215118/1/dp12722.pdf
Warren, P. Y., Cochran, J., Shields, R. T., Feldmeyer, B., Bailey, C., & Stewart, E. A. (2020). Sentencing departures and female defendants: Assessing the effects of racial and ethnic threat. Crime & Delinquency, 66(1), 59-92. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0011128719839394
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