TY - JOUR
T1 - The Dangerous Drug Offender in Federal Court
T2 - Intersections of Race, Ethnicity, and Culpability
AU - Spohn, Cassia
AU - Sample, Lisa L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This article is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant #SES0136236. Points of view are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the National Science Foundation.
PY - 2013/2
Y1 - 2013/2
N2 - This study examines the complex relationships among stereotypes about crime, the offender's race/ethnicity, and sentencing decisions. Using data on White, Black, and Hispanic male drug offenders sentenced in three U.S. district courts and a definition of the dangerous drug offender appropriate to the federal sentence system, the authors explore the degree to which stereotypes about dangerous drug offenders influence sentence length. The results reveal that fitting the stereotype of a dangerous federal drug offender (i.e., a male drug trafficker with a prior trafficking conviction who used a weapon to commit the current offense) affected the length of the prison sentence for Black offenders but not for White or Hispanic offenders. Further analysis revealed that this effect was confined to Black offenders convicted of drug offenses involving crack cocaine. The results provide further evidence that the focal concerns guiding judicial decision making may vary depending on the offender's race or ethnicity.
AB - This study examines the complex relationships among stereotypes about crime, the offender's race/ethnicity, and sentencing decisions. Using data on White, Black, and Hispanic male drug offenders sentenced in three U.S. district courts and a definition of the dangerous drug offender appropriate to the federal sentence system, the authors explore the degree to which stereotypes about dangerous drug offenders influence sentence length. The results reveal that fitting the stereotype of a dangerous federal drug offender (i.e., a male drug trafficker with a prior trafficking conviction who used a weapon to commit the current offense) affected the length of the prison sentence for Black offenders but not for White or Hispanic offenders. Further analysis revealed that this effect was confined to Black offenders convicted of drug offenses involving crack cocaine. The results provide further evidence that the focal concerns guiding judicial decision making may vary depending on the offender's race or ethnicity.
KW - drug offenders
KW - federal sentencing guidelines
KW - sentencing disparity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84871484522&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84871484522&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0011128708319928
DO - 10.1177/0011128708319928
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84871484522
SN - 0011-1287
VL - 59
SP - 3
EP - 31
JO - Crime and Delinquency
JF - Crime and Delinquency
IS - 1
ER -