Racial Disparity in Federal Criminal Sentences

Using rich data linking federal cases from arrest through to sentencing, we find that initial case and defendant characteristics, including arrest offense and criminal history, can explain most of the large raw racial disparity in federal sentences, but significant gaps remain. Across the distributi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of political economy 2014-12, Vol.122 (6), p.1320-1354
Main Authors: Rehavi, M. Marit, Starr, Sonja B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arrest
Crime
Criminal arrests
Criminal histories
Criminal offenses
Criminal punishment
Criminal records
Criminal sentences
Criminal sentencing
Criminality
Criminals
Decisions
Defendants
Distribution
Economic theory
Inequality
Litigation
Mandatory minimum sentences
Offenses
Political economy
Prosecuting attorneys
Racial Differences
Racial discrimination
Sentencing
Sentencing guidelines
Social conditions & trends
Studies
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Summary:Using rich data linking federal cases from arrest through to sentencing, we find that initial case and defendant characteristics, including arrest offense and criminal history, can explain most of the large raw racial disparity in federal sentences, but significant gaps remain. Across the distribution, blacks receive sentences that are almost 10 percent longer than those of comparable whites arrested for the same crimes. Most of this disparity can be explained by prosecutors’ initial charging decisions, particularly the filing of charges carrying mandatory minimum sentences. Ceteris paribus, the odds of black arrestees facing such a charge are 1.75 times higher than those of white arrestees.
ISSN:0022-3808
1537-534X
DOI:10.1086/677255