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Science 16 February 1990:
Vol. 247. no. 4944, pp. 812 - 816
DOI: 10.1126/science.2305254
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Articles

Science, Vol 247, Issue 4944, 812-816
Copyright © 1990 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Race and imprisonment decisions in California

S Klein, J Petersilia, and S Turner

Criminal Justice Program, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA 90406.

Data were analyzed for 11,553 California offenders who in 1980 were convicted of assault, robbery, burglary, theft, forgery, or drug crimes. Whether an offender was given probation or sentenced to prison for such crimes could be predicted with about 80 percent accuracy from a combination of variables that described defendant and crime characteristics and criminal justice processing. The addition of race to the prediction equation for a given crime type did not improve the accuracy of the prediction. In addition, there was no evidence that other factors related to imprisonment (for example, number of conviction counts, going to trial) masked a relation between race and imprisonment. Race also was not related to the length of prison term imposed.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Does an Offender's Age Have an Effect on Sentence Length?: A Meta-Analytic Review.
J. Wu and C. Spohn (2009)
Criminal Justice Policy Review 20, 379-413
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The Complexities of Prior Record, Race, Ethnicity, and Policy: Interactive Effects in Sentencing.
M. S. Crow (2008)
Criminal Justice Review 33, 502-523
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Race/Ethnicity and Sentencing Outcomes Among Drug Offenders in North Carolina.
P. K. Brennan and C. Spohn (2008)
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 24, 371-398
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The Interactive Effects of Victim Race and Gender on Death Sentence Disparity Findings.
M. R. Williams and J. E. Holcomb (2004)
Homicide Studies 8, 350-376
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The Effect of Pretrial Detention on Imprisonment Decisions.
M. R. Williams (2003)
Criminal Justice Review 28, 299-316
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An Arresting Experiment: Domestic Violence Victim Experiences and Perceptions.
J. Miller (2003)
J Interpers Violence 18, 695-716
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Social Distance and Discretionary Rule Enforcement in a Women's Prison.
R. M. Freeman (2003)
The Prison Journal 83, 191-205
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Racial Disparity in Arrest Rates as an Explanation of Racial Disparity in Commitment to Pennsylvania's Prisons.
R. L. AUSTIN and M. D. ALLEN (2000)
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 37, 200-220
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Ethnic Differences in Use of Cardiovascular Procedures: New Insights and New Challenges.
R. L. Kravitz (1999)
Ann Intern Med 130, 231-233
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Sentencing Outcomes of Black, Hispanic, and White Males Convicted Under Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
C. G. Hebert (1997)
Criminal Justice Review 22, 133-156
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Racial Politics, Racial Disparities, and the War on Crime.
M. Tonry (1994)
Crime Delinquency 40, 475-494
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