THE IMPRISONMENT PENALTY PAID BY YOUNG, UNEMPLOYED BLACK AND HISPANIC MALE OFFENDERS

TLDR

Prior research in Pennsylvania revealed strong links among race, gender, age, and sentence severity. The study aims to replicate and extend that work by examining how race, gender, and age jointly influence sentencing outcomes. The authors analyze sentencing data from three large urban jurisdictions, incorporating Hispanic offenders and testing interactions among race/ethnicity, gender, age, and employment status. The analysis confirms that while no characteristic influences sentence length, each significantly affects incarceration likelihood, and interactions among race, gender, age, and employment produce harsher outcomes for young black and Hispanic males and for unemployed black and Hispanic males compared to their white or employed counterparts.

Abstract

A recent study of sentencing decisions in Pennsylvania (Steffensmeier et al., 1998) identified significant interrelationships among race, gender, age, and sentence severity. The authors of this study found that each of the three offender characteristics had significant direct effects on sentence outcomes and that the characteristics interacted to produce substantially harsher sentences for one category of offenders—young black males. This study responds to Steffensmeier et al.'s (1998:789) call for “further research analyzing how race effects may be mediated by other factors.” We replicate their research approach, examining the intersections of the effects of race, gender, and age on sentence outcomes. We extend their analysis in three ways: We examine sentence outcomes in three large urban jurisdictions; we include Hispanics as well as blacks and test for interactions between ethnicity, age, and gender; and we test for interactions between race/ethnicity, gender, and employment status. Our results are generally—although not entirely—consistent with the results of the Pennsylvania study. Although none of the offender characteristics affects the length of the prison sentence, each has a significant direct effect on the likelihood of incarceration in at least one of the jurisdictions. More importantly, the four offender characteristics interact to produce harsher sentences for certain types of offenders. Young black and Hispanic males face greater odds of incarceration than middle‐aged white males, and unemployed black and Hispanic males are substantially more likely to be sentenced to prison than employed white males. Thus, our results suggest that offenders with constellations of characteristics other than “young black male” pay a punishment penalty.