Study Shows Disparities in Criminal Sentencing
March 9th, 2009 by Robert Franklin, Esq.The assessment of fees and fines also appears to be influenced by defendant characteristics: Hispanic defendants are assessed significantly higher fees and fines than white defendants, and male defendants are assessed significantly higher fees and fines than female defendants. - The Assessment and Consequences of Legal Financial Obligations in Washington State.
A study by University of Washington Sociologists Katherine Beckett and Alexes Harris confirms what many have long thought - that criminal courts discriminate on the basis of race and sex in the sentences they hand down. Read about it here (The Seattle Times, 2/25/09). Read the study itself here.
The study, conducted for the State of Washington Justice and Minority Commission, spanned four years and looked at 3,366 cases. But the study did not evaluate incarceration times or rates. Instead, it focused on the fines and fees assessed. Those Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs) ranged from a low of $500 to a high of over $21,000. When restitution orders were included, the high shot up to over $200,000.
Among the study's findings are the fact that men are sentenced to pay higher fees and fines than are women for the same offense, and that, amazingly enough, drug offenses result in higher fees and fines than do violent felonies.
Those with LFOs remain under the jurisdiction of the sentencing court until the obligation is completely repaid, even if that is longer than the statutory maximum for the offense. The study emphasizes that over half of those studied earned incomes below the federal poverty line. The majority also had minor dependent children.
The report urges the state to overhaul the way Superior Court judges assess those penalties.
Attorney Marc Angelucci writes that this study corroborates others that show that, for example, "gender differences favoring women are more often found than race differences favoring whites." (Crime and Delinquency, 1989, v. 35, pp. 136-68)
Thanks, Marc, for the heads-up.
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March 9th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Hmm, so the most privelaged is White women, then Minority women, then White males, then Minority males according to the study. I worked at a jail for two months and the majority of the inmates reflect this, granted the sentencing and criminal acts are not correlated in the study. I find it disturbing that the majority were African-American males, yet we have an African-American president. I don't believe some people are given a positive avenue for success in life and blindly turn down a peer pressured or only known road.
March 9th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
There was a time when the hierarchy began with *white men*, then white women, then black women, and then black men.
As a white woman, I feel like i'm in a minority. Why?
Because the Asians, the Blacks, and the Hispanics outnumber me by far! ... and I don't like it one bit!
March 9th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
well lets see gg and we will apply the basic tenant of what is supposed to be feminist logic and that of equality . you are trying to score cheap points here on this subject . the hierarchy ( kudos for not trolling out patriarchy ) worked that way and it was flawed however this way is NOT any better and trying to find ways of justifying as you have above does show just how weak the average feminist argument is .
March 9th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg said he has little sympathy for the disparities cited in the report. He believes fines are a good idea because they "hit people where it hurts."
Uh....wait a minute Mr. Prosecutor...you're talking about two different things here. One is the fines themselves the second is the disparities. Very few would suggest that fines are a bad idea. What we egalitarians have a problem with is the disparity. How can you honestly feel that it is fair to hold two (or more) different groups of people to a different standard simply because these groups differ by some god-given trait (gender in this case)? My guess: you can't and you are simply using this articles for a soundbite.
March 9th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
no, i'm not trying to score cheap points. I just do not like being a minority! Wherever I go .... walmart, albertsons, drugstore, casino, cinema ..... I no longer FIT in ..... because i am *white*.
To me, that is downright SCARY~!
March 9th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
and I feel *intimidated*!
March 9th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
well from a country that has suffered multiculturalism and all its failure ill say this , there is no point in complaining, the world is too small now , what we should be looking for is equality in every way , legally , finically , responsibly regardless of race or gender... you have spent enough time on here extolling the rights of women to expect and demand and now you are making a comment like this ........ we have the pot i see , now where is the black kettle ?
March 9th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
in the same way that a man in the court system , in an employment tribunal or in front of police in a domestic incident, or even boys who have engaged in sexual activity with same aged partners to be found out he and he alone will be charged with rape while she was victim feel intimidated ???
March 9th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
my point is simple on this although i may be trying to crack a nut with a sledgehammer .The stuff you are saying here is the same thing you have pilloried men on this site for doing .. commenting on how they feel now with a society that is marginalizing them and i really wish you and others could see that.
March 9th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
So why are we arguing?
Are we not in the same sinking boat?
March 9th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
not only THAT ....
*THEY* get all the benefits of being in a minority ... food stamps, wellfare, free health ....
What do WE get? Nothin! Because *we* planned our future and worked to meet our goals. Soooo, *we* are the bad buys.
March 9th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
No because race is irrelevant to me I am not part of a left wing group concerned with the whiteness of a place however as this study shows women do recive a substantial discount in punishment compared to men and men of a non white origin , I want to see it equal irrespective of colour , the boards here arent interested in race or how white someone is , we want equality ....... seems you are thinking in a different way.
March 9th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I am really having a *pithy* evening.
I shall do a defrag and return later.
Where is *jeana*?
March 9th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Okay, fine, Duncan.... you are *mixed* .... so what. My opinion is this: I do NOT feel I should bow down to any race, color, or religion, or gender! I have a *right* to associate with people I choose. Also, Duncan, for your information, I don't like it when a so-called *minority* rams their culture down my throat. For instance, i do NOT like black culture ... their music, their art, their jive, or what have you. And although it ain't politically correct, it's STILL my *right*.
So don't try to pull your minority clout on me.
March 9th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
It's really this simple..By societies unwillingness to hold women/girls equally accountable for their violence/ criminal behavior...we are manufacturing violence and criminality.
March 9th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
frainklin, it's okay for someone to wave *burning crosses* in your face ???
and you delete any response to such statements?
March 9th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
In other news, after an intensive 2-year study, scientists have discovered that bears do indeed defecate in the woods.
March 9th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
gg your comments tonight have shown a dislike and distrust of people of colour based round generalized and often incorrect racial stereotypes ( ie we are paying for them ) you feel uncomfortable round people because of there heritage for someone who is a beliver in equality you are wayyyyy out there tonight the cross reference was me trying to make light of your statements i could have rightfully lost the plot with your views here but im not lowering myself .
March 9th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
that study probably cost tax payers a tidy million
March 9th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
I read on another men's board that feminists were complaining, because women (supposedly) get longer probationary periods than men. Duh..those who don't go to prison tend to get probation....
March 9th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
With a name like Duncan Macleod, I'd pick you for a scotsman :D
I totally don't understand GG. I'm a white woman, and I never feel intimidated by the many-cultured people here in Aus. We get Asians, Aboriginals, Africans, Lebanese, Italians and Greeks (most commonly. There are Europeans, Kiwis etc as well, but these stand out most), and I think it's wonderful. I get to meet people of all manner of backgrounds and cultures and even work with them.
What is so frightening about the people around you?
March 9th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
I wish we could omit these articles mentioning race.I only want to read about mens/fathers issues,not race.Lets examine only the sentencing disparities between males and females.Let another blog cover the race perspective.
March 9th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
It seems as if many black men have been released recently due to DNA evidence which may also be a prejudice mindset in conviction. I also noticed an absence of black males on college campus that were not in athletics, yet have not noticed an initiative to encourage attendance otherwise. The disparity in sentencing may be more socioeconomic and encouraging academics for boys in general may help relieve stigmas and stereotypes.
March 10th, 2009 at 12:51 am
I have a female neighbor that has got away with 10 times what any guy ever would. Once you see something like that up close you know how unfair things are in the justice system.
I read a while back that 94% of all people in prison in the U. S. are male. Now tell me that this is fair? Just because you have a penis you are 18 times more likely to be in prison??
But you NEVER hear stuff like this on the news though. All I ever hear is about the "wage gap" and bashing men on every other story.
March 10th, 2009 at 1:23 am
Well most cops are male also, and men tend to be protective of women from the get go just like mostly male legislative and judicial systems that can't see past archaic chivalry from past patriarchs.
March 10th, 2009 at 2:40 am
I do not need a study to inform me that the United States' courts are biased. I saw it with my own eyes.
March 10th, 2009 at 5:25 am
Oh no, someone please go help Georgia Girl before all those mean black folks tie her up and stuff her full of watermelon, fried chicken and crack, while forcing her to listen to 50 Cent! Good grief, have i stumbled into Stormfront?
Georgia's racist hysteria is a surprise, the study is not, except in drugs getting heavier fines than violence.
March 10th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Sonja . I am scottish /irish i am a mutt god knows what it in there genetics wise but was born on the belfast to stranrar ferry so i am kinda neither and both ..
March 10th, 2009 at 9:02 am
GG (a white woman) states:
"I do NOT feel I should bow down to any race, color, or religion, or gender! I have a *right* to associate with people I choose. Also, Duncan, for your information, I don't like it when a so-called *minority* rams their culture down my throat. For instance, i do NOT like black culture ... their music, their art, their jive, or what have you. And although it ain't politically correct, it's STILL my *right*."
Let's try an experiment:
I do NOT feel I should bow down to women, or gays! I have a *right* to associate with people I choose. Also, I don't like it when a so-called *gays* rams their culture down my throat. For instance, i do NOT like it when women force their way into a mens clubs or force us men to pick up the slack for them 'cause they really cannot do the job or what have you. And although it ain't politically correct, it's STILL my *right*.
Oh, I forgot... that's diffffferennntttttttttt.
TMOTS
March 10th, 2009 at 10:18 am
Michael Claymore, that's a myth. Racism is not restricted to the south. And whether you admit it or not, we are ALL racists, regardless of our origin. Tell me something, why does our country not have a *week-long White History celebration"? ohhhh lordy, we couldn't do that, could we ... that would be the height of discrimination and racism!
How about a week-long celebration of Asian History, Hebrew History, or any other culture. Why is it only ONE race who jams its culture down our thoats?
March 10th, 2009 at 11:32 am
GeorgiaGirl, you said, " Why is it only ONE race who jams its culture down our thoats?"
What race are you talking about, please be specific?
March 10th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
well lets see your right to a degree i argue for christian holidays i argue for free speach as long as it doesnt hurt others although its funny the un pc ...( not un pc your statements have been racist end of .. ) complaining that there isnt enough representation for her "kind" hmmm womens days , anti dv against women days .... female studies we are changing the world to accomodate this yet when another culture wants recognised you get huffy ..... scared of the competition ?
March 10th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Good point GG
March 10th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
G G: I don't have negative views of different races. Whether or not they have a week long history celebration is not what I consider an issue. I've had numerous associates who are of different dissents than mine. Why should their differences change how I view my life and what I do. My responsibility is to live and raise my children to appreciate differences instead of viewing them as being wrong.
People are people, and you don't have to be a different color to be criminal, or a bad parent. It was a white guy who walked up the isle of the church this past weekend who shot and killed the pastor. If he wasn't tackled, they believe he had rounds to kill approx. 30 people. Should I not like a race because of poor choices made by some who are of that race?
You say, "we are all racist." We should add, "those who are, choose to be."
March 10th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
#29 -- Man on the Street, your experiment reiterates my point~!
March 10th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Um not because his statement is a rally against gender feminisim and you are a self described feminist if that proves your point then you have just compared your belief system to that of black men and women celebrating there ancestry and if you dont want that and you felt that mots comment was valid then you must also then agree that men have got every right to rebel against the "facts" feminists push on us and if thats the case your points in any prior post become worthless....
March 10th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
Glenn is going to be talking in waltham tonight everybody that can be there should be there, I will be going tonight at 7:00 pm. I'm looking forward to hearing him talk about the merger.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
"Michael Claymore, that's a myth. Racism is not restricted to the south."
I didnt say it was.
"And whether you admit it or not, we are ALL racists, regardless of our origin."
Claptrap with no evidence to back it. Fact is we are all Negroes under the skin- look it up, they left Africa thousands of years ago and when they got to Europe and Asia their bodies slowly adapted to the new conditions and they ended up looking like you.
"Why is it only ONE race who jams its culture down our thoats?"
Culture is dominated by white people.
March 11th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
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