NCJ Number
153593
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 85 Issue: 1 Dated: (Summer 1994) Pages: 181-222
Date Published
1991
Length
42 pages
Annotation
This article discusses some of the issues related to the impact of Federal sentencing reform on the sentencing of female offenders. These issues include whether a convicted offender's pregnancy, child care responsibilities, or marital status should affect the type and length of the sentence imposed; whether courts should consider evidence of psychological coercion that does not rise to the level of a complete defense; and whether courts should consider the defendant's emotional condition or role in the offense when determining a sentence.
Abstract
The first section of the article discusses the efforts by Congress and the U.S. Sentencing Commission to implement facially neutral sentencing guidelines in order to reduce unwarranted sentencing disparity and to eliminate the impact of extralegal factors in sentencing decisions. The second section examines issues in the Federal sentencing guidelines that are of special concern to women because of their potential for a disparate gender-based effect. The final section reviews the sentencing of female offenders under the Federal sentencing guidelines in the three offense categories of drug trafficking, embezzlement, and larceny. The authors conclude that Federal sentencing guidelines have not eliminated the favorable treatment of female offenders, but the extent to which this disparity reflects differences in male and female criminality remains unclear. 186 notes