TLHLIM
- Thread starter sturg33
- Start date
My best guess is actually that the sentencing might not be wildly different but that a different group of people would be outraged.
Tapate50
Well-known member
Maybe not with this judge, but in general? There’s simply not an overabundance of white teens getting sentenced more harshly than minorities in this country.
nsacpi
Expects Yuge Games
What do studies show of sentencing of black people relative to white people for the same crime?
Studies on racial disparities in sentencing between Black and White people for the same crimes reveal a complex picture. The majority of recent research, including reports from government bodies and advocacy organizations, indicates that Black defendants often receive harsher sentences than White defendants, even after controlling for factors like offense type, criminal history, age, and other case characteristics. These disparities are typically attributed to a combination of systemic policies with disparate impacts, implicit biases in discretionary decisions (e.g., by prosecutors and judges), and resource inequalities that disproportionately affect low-income communities of color. However, some analyses, including a recent meta-review and older government surveys, find no reliable evidence of racial bias, arguing that observed differences are small, statistically insignificant, or fully explained by legitimate legal factors rather than race itself.
Key findings from prominent studies are summarized below in a table for clarity. Note that disparities are most pronounced in federal courts and for certain crime types (e.g., drug offenses), and they can vary by gender, with Black males facing the largest gaps. Overall trends show modest reductions in disparities over time (e.g., a 22% drop in jail incarceration rate gaps from 2009-2019), but persistent inequalities remain, particularly in sentence length and the likelihood of incarceration versus probation.
In explaining how to interpret these findings: For studies showing disparities (e.g., USSC), researchers control for confounding variables through statistical models like regression analysis, isolating race as a factor. For instance, the USSC uses multivariate regression to adjust for criminal history scores, offense levels, and demographics, revealing residual differences attributable to race. Conversely, the meta-analysis deeming effects as "noise" sets a threshold (r=0.10) for meaningful bias and aggregates across studies, finding inconsistencies and small sizes that don't meet it—though it acknowledges limitations like variable study quality and fewer controls in some. Older data (e.g., 1994 BJS) relies on descriptive comparisons and basic adjustments, potentially missing subtler biases detected in modern analyses.
Reforms suggested in reports like The Sentencing Project include eliminating mandatory minimums, using racial impact statements for new laws, and increasing judicial/prosecutorial diversity to mitigate disparities. Overall, while consensus leans toward evidence of disparities, the debate hinges on whether small effects indicate systemic bias or are artifacts of unmeasured factors.
Studies on racial disparities in sentencing between Black and White people for the same crimes reveal a complex picture. The majority of recent research, including reports from government bodies and advocacy organizations, indicates that Black defendants often receive harsher sentences than White defendants, even after controlling for factors like offense type, criminal history, age, and other case characteristics. These disparities are typically attributed to a combination of systemic policies with disparate impacts, implicit biases in discretionary decisions (e.g., by prosecutors and judges), and resource inequalities that disproportionately affect low-income communities of color. However, some analyses, including a recent meta-review and older government surveys, find no reliable evidence of racial bias, arguing that observed differences are small, statistically insignificant, or fully explained by legitimate legal factors rather than race itself.
Key findings from prominent studies are summarized below in a table for clarity. Note that disparities are most pronounced in federal courts and for certain crime types (e.g., drug offenses), and they can vary by gender, with Black males facing the largest gaps. Overall trends show modest reductions in disparities over time (e.g., a 22% drop in jail incarceration rate gaps from 2009-2019), but persistent inequalities remain, particularly in sentence length and the likelihood of incarceration versus probation.
| Source/Study | Year/Period | Key Finding on Black vs. White Sentencing | Notes/Controls |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) Demographic Differences in Federal Sentencing | 2017-2021 | Black males received sentences 13.4% longer overall and 4.7% longer when imprisoned; 23.4% less likely to receive probation. Black females 11.2% less likely to receive probation than White females. | Controls for criminal history, offense characteristics, guidelines; disparities driven more by incarceration decisions than prison term lengths. |
| USSC Report on Black Male Defendants | 2012-2016 | Black males 21.2% less likely to receive below-guideline sentences; sentences 7.9% longer within guidelines, 20.4% longer when accounting for violence. | Federal data; controls for history and offense; cited in NACDL overview. |
| The Sentencing Project: One in Five - Racial Disparity in Imprisonment | 2000-2021 (various data) | Black people imprisoned at 5x the rate of Whites; more likely to receive longer sentences cumulatively across system stages; overrepresented in life sentences (48% of lifers are Black). | Aggregates state/federal data; attributes to policies (e.g., mandatory minimums), bias, and resources; notes declines but persistent gaps. |
| Meta-Analytic Review: Race, Class, and Criminal Adjudication (Aggression and Violent Behavior) | 2005-2022 (51 studies) | No reliable race bias detected (effect size r=0.054 for Black vs. White); small effects considered statistical noise; minor disparities only for drug crimes. | Meta-analysis of adjudication outcomes (e.g., sentence length, departures); controls vary by study; suggests perceptions of bias overstated. |
| Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) Felony Defendants Survey (via OJP article) | 1994 (1-year sample) | Black defendants received prison sentences in 51% of convictions vs. 38% for Whites, but fully explained by offense seriousness, criminal records, and jurisdiction practices—no bias found. | Sample of 10,226 defendants in 75 largest counties; argues weak race effects due to legal factors, not racism. |
| Pew Charitable Trusts: Racial Disparities in U.S. Jails | 2009-2019 | Black-White jail incarceration rate gap dropped 22%, but Black people still more likely to be detained pretrial for similar histories/charges. | Focuses on pretrial, which influences sentencing; data from 250+ jails. |
| Georgia State University Research: Racial Disparities in Prison Population | Pre-2020 (various) | Disparities in prison population declining, but Blacks serve longer sentences than Whites for similar crimes. | Aggregate trends; notes overall reductions but persistent sentence length gaps. |
Reforms suggested in reports like The Sentencing Project include eliminating mandatory minimums, using racial impact statements for new laws, and increasing judicial/prosecutorial diversity to mitigate disparities. Overall, while consensus leans toward evidence of disparities, the debate hinges on whether small effects indicate systemic bias or are artifacts of unmeasured factors.
It’s a good thing ChatGPT exists because that would be a lot of analysis to type up only for thethe or tap to respond with lol while deriding the experts because they have an anecdote of a white person being unfairly charged with a hate crime.
Obviously the solution isn’t to go the entire opposite direction and under-sentence people based on race, but if anybody thinks it’s actually more likely for a white person to be given an unfair sentence than a non-white person in this country, you’re just on Twitter too much.
This is actually not relevant to this portion of the discussion unless the answer is 0 or you can cite the statistics in the sentencing of those kids and show how they exceed that of black kids beating up a white one. We’re not trying to identify frequency, we’re discussing disparities in sentencing.
Of course it does. But you’re using a hypothetical crime and sentence to declare me wrong about my guess.
Your argument is that across the entire country we would not be able to find a single instance of a group of white teens beating up a minority? Do they only do that once they grow up and become police officers?
It’s not naivety - it’s adherence to his communist ideals. Means to an end. Lie lie lie
sturg33
I
Probably true.
Anyone who has ever studied Marxism should be violently against anything resembling it.
Yet these people embrace or defend or justify it all