Following a brief review of the available research, results are presented from sentencing recommendations obtained from three subject samples: a general public sample, a college student sample, and a sample of prison inmates. Further, the sentencing responses of the general public to hypothetical male and female defendants are compared with actual sentencing practices of felony courts in the State where this study was conducted. The study shows that female defendants receive less severe sentences than male defendants, a pattern which held for all three samples in the study. Females defendants are also treated more leniently according to official court records in the State where the survey was conducted. While these findings indicate the criminal justice system's preferential treatment of offenders, the data also indicate that with the exception of a few offenses (e.g., seduction of a minor,) the differences in sentencing of male and female defendants are likely to be small for a given offense. Sex-based differences in sentencing appear to be based on beliefs about women as weaker, less responsible, less likely to get into trouble with the law, less dangerous, more amenable to rehabilitation, and more likely to be harmed by a harsh disposition. Further, the special nature and treatment of female defendants can be linked to women's customary economic and political position, since women are viewed as being important for the stability of the family and the performance of homemaker duties for their children and husbands. Incarcerating women would therefore be viewed as especially disruptive to the nuclear family. Tabular data, 48 references, and 7 notes are provided. (Author summary modified)