NCJ Number: 218246
Title: Neighborhood Effects on Felony Sentencing
Journal: Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume:44 Issue:2 Dated:May 2007 Pages:238-263
Author(s): John Wooldredge
Date Published: May 2007
Page Count: 26
Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
Grant Number: 98-CE-VX-0015
Publisher: http://www.sagepub.com/
Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
Format: Article
Language: English
Country: United States of America
Annotation: This study examined whether felony sentences were influenced by ecological factors (i.e., poor neighborhoods), separately or in conjunction with a defendant’s race.
Abstract: Study findings indicate that convicted felons from more disadvantaged neighborhoods were more likely to receive suspended prison sentences, whereas a defendant’s race was unrelated to imprisonment. In contrast, neighborhood disadvantage was unrelated to sentence length for imprisoned defendants, whereas African-Americans received significantly shorter terms relative to Whites. The overrepresentation of African-American men in State prisons across the United States, particularly those from poor neighborhoods, has generated discussion about the impact of minority incarceration rates on economic well-being and social cohesion in predominantly African-American communities. To shed light on felony sentences, both legal and extralegal effects on the odds of imprisonment and the length of imprisonment were modeled for 2,954 defendants convicted on felony charges from 1,021 census tracts in Ohio, controlling for jurisdiction differences in defendant pools and disposition rates. The study examined whether a convicted felon received a non-suspended prison sentence and the length of incarceration for convicted felons sent to prison. The study hypotheses focused on the main effects of a defendant’s race on sentencing, the main effects of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage on sentencing, and the interaction effects between a defendant’s race and neighborhood disadvantage; whether socioeconomic disadvantage conditioned the effect of a defendant’s race on sentence severity. Tables, notes, and references
Main Term(s): Sentencing factors
Index Term(s): Adult felony system; Economic influences; Environmental influences; Felony; Felony courts; Incarceration; Judicial decisions; Poverty and crime; Sentencing/Sanctions
To cite this abstract, use the following link: http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=239942
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