Racial Equity in Sentencing

Stephen P. Klein, Susan Turner, Joan R. Petersilia

ResearchPublished 1988

This report presents the results of an analysis of data on 11,553 offenders who were convicted in California in 1980 of assault, robbery, burglary, theft, forgery, or drug crimes. Using a combination of defendant and crime characteristics and criminal justice processing variables, the authors were able to predict with about 80 percent accuracy whether an offender was given probation or sentenced to prison for these crimes. Adding race to the prediction equation for a given crime type did not improve accuracy, nor was race shown to be related to the predicted sentence. Thus, the failure of race to contribute to predictive accuracy did not stem from any correlation between race and the variables that did predict these outcomes. Race also was not related to the length of prison term imposed. These findings, in contrast to those obtained before the full implementation of California's Determinate Sentencing Act, suggest that this act may foster racial equity in sentencing.

Order a Print Copy

Format
Paperback
Page count
41 pages
List Price
$20.00
Buy link
Add to Cart

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 1988
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 41
  • Paperback Price: $20.00
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-0-8330-0882-4
  • Document Number: R-3599-RC

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Klein, Stephen P., Susan Turner, and Joan R. Petersilia, Racial Equity in Sentencing, RAND Corporation, R-3599-RC, 1988. As of October 11, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R3599.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Klein, Stephen P., Susan Turner, and Joan R. Petersilia, Racial Equity in Sentencing. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1988. https://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R3599.html. Also available in print form.
BibTeX RIS

This publication is part of the RAND report series. The report series, a product of RAND from 1948 to 1993, represented the principal publication documenting and transmitting RAND's major research findings and final research.

This research in the public interest was supported by RAND using discretionary funds made possible by the generosity of RAND's donors, the fees earned on client-funded research, or independent research and development (IR&D) funds provided by the Department of Defense.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.