Cumulative Racial and Ethnic Inequalities in Potentially Capital Cases

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-249
Author(s):  
Nick Petersen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Death Penalty ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Racial Ethnic ◽  
Multiple Stages

To understand how racial/ethnic disparities are formed and sustained within death penalty institutions, this study tracks homicide cases through multiple stages of Los Angeles County’s criminal justice system. Drawing upon cumulative disadvantage research, this study focuses on the accumulation of racial/ethnic biases across multiple decision-making points. Logistic regressions seek to answer the following questions: (1) does victim/defendant race/ethnicity influence prosecutorial decision-making? and (2) if so, do these racial/ethnic disparities accumulate across multiple stages of the criminal justice system? Results indicate that cases with minority victims are less likely to involve a death-eligible charge or death notice. Moreover, these racial/ethnic disparities increase as cases advance through the courts, producing a Whiter pool of victims at later stages in the process. Defendant race/ethnicity is not predictive of death penalty charging decisions but does moderate the influence of victim race/ethnicity such that cases with minority defendants and White victims are treated more punitively.

Disproportionate Minority Contact

Sexual Abuse ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Fix ◽  
Melissa A. Cyperski ◽  
Barry R. Burkhart
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Sexual Offenders ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Risk Scores ◽  
Disproportionate Minority Contact ◽  
Sexual Offenses ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Racial Ethnic

The overrepresentation of racial/ethnic minorities within the criminal justice system relative to their population percentage, a phenomenon termed disproportionate minority contact, has been examined within general adult and adolescent offender populations; yet few studies have tested whether this phenomenon extends to juvenile sexual offenders (JSOs). In addition, few studies have examined whether offender race/ethnicity influences registration and notification requirements, which JSOs are subject to in some U.S. states. The present study assessed for disproportionate minority contact among general delinquent offenders and JSOs, meaning it aimed to test whether the criminal justice system treats those accused of sexual and non-sexual offenses differently by racial/ethnic group. Furthermore, racial/ethnic group differences in risk, legal classification, and sexual offending were examined for JSOs. Results indicated disproportionate minority contact was present among juveniles with non-sexual offenses and JSOs in Alabama. In addition, offense category and risk scores differed between African American and European American JSOs. Finally, registration classifications were predicted by offending characteristics, but not race/ethnicity. Implications and future directions regarding disproportionate minority contact among JSOs and social and legal policy affecting JSOs are discussed.

Time, Money, and Punishment: Institutional Racial-Ethnic Inequalities in Pretrial Detention and Case Outcomes

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 837-863
Author(s):  
Brandon P. Martinez ◽  
Nick Petersen ◽  
Marisa Omori
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Discrete Event ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Racial Inequalities ◽  
Pretrial Detention ◽  
Ethnic Stratification ◽  
Racial Ethnic

While prior research finds that pretrial detention has downstream consequences for racial inequalities in conviction and sentencing, it is often conceptualized as a discrete event within the criminal justice system. This study instead argues that pretrial detention operates as a racial-ethnic stratification process across time. We assess whether temporal and monetary dimensions of pretrial produce and reinforce racial-ethnic disparities in pretrial and subsequent case outcomes. Results indicate that time and money significantly stratify defendants by race and ethnicity, where bond amounts increase time detained, and that time detained in turn reinforces racial inequalities in conviction and incarceration. Indicative of cumulative understandings of inequality, our study shows how time and money in pretrial detention perpetuate inequalities in the criminal justice system.

The Quest for Coherence in Kenya’s Judicial Sentencing Policy: A Review of the Jurisprudence Following the Muruatetu Case

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
pp. 142-149
Author(s):  
Phyllis Ngugi
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Death Penalty ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Supreme Court Decision ◽  
Court Decision ◽  
Sentencing Guidelines ◽  
Trial Court ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Sentencing Policy

The Supreme Court decision in the now-infamous case Francis Karioko Muruatetu v Republic1 seemed to settle the enduring debate whether sentencing is a judicial or a legislative function. The court’s ruling was that sentencing is a judicial function and that the mandatory nature of the death penalty for murder2 was unconstitutional because it took away the courts’ discretion to determine a just and proportionate punishment to impose on a convicted person. In its judgment, the court ordered that the judiciary sentencing policy3 be revised to reflect the court’s guidelines on the obligation of courts to listen to the accused’s mitigation before sentencing. The court also directed that a framework for sentence rehearing be prepared immediately to allow applicants who had been sentenced in circumstances similar to those of the petitioners to apply for sentence a rehearing from the trial court. This article examines the aftermath of this judgment in terms of whether the Supreme Court’s decision helped to cure the challenge that lies in the current sentencing process; achieving coherence and proportionality in the sentencing process. By using jurisprudential arguments, we intend to demonstrate that, despite the court’s direction to all courts to ensure that no person should be subjected to a disproportionate sentence, the problem of disproportional sentencing is one that goes beyond merely reviewing of the sentencing guidelines but also demands a reform of the entire criminal justice system.

Tempering Expectations: A Qualitative Study of Prosecutorial Reform

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-73
Author(s):  
Rebecca Richardson ◽  
Besiki Luka Kutateladze
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Path Dependence ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Communication Challenges

Objectives: We investigate path dependence and barriers to the acceptance and implementation of reform-minded prosecution, which focuses on reducing unnecessary incarceration, promoting fairness, engaging with the community, and improving accountability in the criminal justice system. Method: Using semistructured interviews with 47 prosecutors in two Florida jurisdictions, both with newly elected state attorneys, we explore reform-minded prosecution priorities and barriers to their effective implementation. Results: Findings suggest that though reform-minded priorities are present in the study prosecutor’s offices, existing prosecutorial norms, case-focused decision-making, policy ambiguities, and communication challenges serve as barriers to their effective implementation. Conclusions: The study highlights the role that line agents play in determining the success of reform-minded prosecution. It also identifies key barriers to reform that reform-minded prosecutors must overcome if they are to achieve meaningful changes toward greater effectiveness, transparency, and impartiality in prosecution.

Why isn’t history a recognized criminal specialists’ teacher?

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-36
Author(s):  
Jarosław Warylewski
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Death Penalty ◽  
Criminal Law ◽  
Justice System ◽  
The Real ◽  
Penal Law ◽  
History Of

The study includes reflections on the history of punishment and other means of a criminal reaction, their effectiveness and their impact on the criminal justice system. It indicates the limited “repertoire” of the mentioned measures. It draws attention to the real threats to the most important legal interests, especially to life, such as war and terrorism. It doubts the effectiveness of severe penalties, especially the death penalty. Indicates the dangers of penal populism and the perishing of law, including criminal law. It contains an appeal to criminologists and penal law experts to deal with all these dangers in terms of ideas rather than individual regulations.

The Impact of Crime Victimization and Fear of Crime on Attitudes Toward Death Penalty Defendants

1987 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rick Seltzer ◽  
Joseph P. McCormick
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Death Penalty ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Crime Victimization ◽  
Attitudes Toward Death ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mitigating Circumstances ◽  
Penalty Phase

A 1983 telephone survey of 610 respondents in two Maryland counties found that the general disposition of the respondents toward the criminal justice system was a better predictor of abstract attitudes toward the death penalty than either the respondents’ fear of becoming crime victims or whether they had been victims of crime. Yet respondents’ fear of crime victimization was a better predictor of their willingness to impose the death penalty or to accept mitigating circumstances during the penalty phase of a capital case than their abstract attitudes toward the criminal justice system. Respondents who were “somewhat” afraid of crime victimization were less likely to support the death penalty than were respondents who were “very” afraid or “not” afraid of victimization. These findings indicate that previous research on the death penalty may have been flawed because the wording of the questions asked was too abstract and unidimensional.

scholarly journals De betrouwbaarheid van verklaringen van kinderen

Pedagogiek ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-248
Author(s):  
Henry Otgaar ◽  
Corine de Ruiter
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
False Memories ◽  
Pivotal Role ◽  
Legal Decision ◽  
Legal Decision Making ◽  
Current Article

Abstract The reliability of children’s testimoniesChildren’s testimonies about abusive experiences can play a pivotal role in the criminal justice system. This is especially the case when other types of evidence (such as videos, technical traces) are absent. In such cases, it is imperative that children’s testimonies accurately reflect what they have experienced. In the current article, the reliability of children’s statements is discussed. We discuss what children can remember of traumatic incidents and elaborate on how children’s false memories can be relatively easily evoked. Furthermore, we discuss how children can best be interviewed using scientifically supported interview protocols. Children’s testimonies can be decisive in legal decision-making. Hence, it is of the utmost importance that these statements are reliable.

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