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Blacks convicted of drug-related offenses in the U.S. have higher prison-commitment rates than Whites. Studies have been largely unsuccessful in explaining these disparities. This study uses administrative data from a random sample of individuals arrested for drug offenses in California to examine this issue. We use a decomposition model to estimat...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... other characteristics are very similar for blacks and whites, such as whether there was a sex felony charge. The patterns are more consistent for the criminal history characteristics (Table 2). In every black-white comparison, blacks had higher rates or counts than whites for criminal history factors in both the pre-Prop36 and post-Prop36 periods. ...
Citations
... The likelihood of receiving a sentence less than recommended by sentencing guidelines is also correlated with race, both for those initiated by judges (Johnson, Ulmer, and Kramer 2008) and prosecutors (Lynch 2016). Black defendants are also less likely to be diverted to drug treatment programs, even after accounting for case factors (Galvin and Ulmer 2021;MacDonald et al. 2015). Altogether, a substantial portion of the overall differences in sentences received by Black and White defendants can be attributed to "legal" (structural) factors (Rehavi and Starr 2014;Ulmer, Painter-Davis, and Tinik 2016). ...
... Our study is not alone is demonstrating that supposedly race-neutral policies can play a role in enduring racial disparity in punishment (MacDonald et al. 2015;MacDonald and Raphael 2020;Schlesinger 2011). Indeed, prior record and the way in which it is calculated has been shown to contribute a substantial portion of this disparity (Frase 2009;Hester et al. 2018;MacDonald et al. 2015;Rehavi and Starr 2014). ...
... Our study is not alone is demonstrating that supposedly race-neutral policies can play a role in enduring racial disparity in punishment (MacDonald et al. 2015;MacDonald and Raphael 2020;Schlesinger 2011). Indeed, prior record and the way in which it is calculated has been shown to contribute a substantial portion of this disparity (Frase 2009;Hester et al. 2018;MacDonald et al. 2015;Rehavi and Starr 2014). Our analysis suggests that racial differences in juvenile adjudications are one element of PRS contributing to this difference. ...
Objectives: To assess whether, and to what extent, juvenile adjudications contribute to cumulative disadvantage at adult sentencing. Additionally, we parse out the relative contribution of structural disadvantage. Methods: Using data on individuals sentenced in Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas from 2015 to 2019, we estimate real and counterfactual incarceration sentences (probability and length). We term the difference between these estimates the “collateral cost” of juvenile adjudication. We also estimate counterfactuals under alternative policy structures. Results: Adjudications impose a substantial collateral cost on adult sentences, raising the probability of incarceration by 0.14 (23 percent of total risk) and the length of incarceration by 3 months. The cost of juvenile records is greater for individuals convicted of moderately to very serious crimes and for Black and male defendants. Structural factors are most impactful for the most common offense levels. Alternative policy structures can lessen absolute costs but are not capable of eliminating disparate costs across demographic groups. Conclusions: The use of juvenile adjudications to inform adult sentencing recommendations contributes to cumulative disadvantage, both in that Black and male defendants are more likely to be affected and that they face greater costs when they do. Guidelines changes can reduce this cost for many defendants.
... In a previous article referring to the same research and focused on the relationship between punitive discrimination and the ethnicity of defendants and judges in Israel (Einat & Toys, 2021), we have presented a relatively extensive review of the relevant literature. We have shown that most studies examine the relationship between defendants' ethnicity and the death penalty (Baumgartner et al., 2015;Gross et al., 2017;Klein, 2014); prison sentences (Abrams et al., 2013;Carson, 2015;Cuthbertson, 2017;Eliza et al., 2017;Fellner, 2013;Gross et al., 2017;Hartney & Vuong, 2009;MacDonald et al., 2014;Nwabuzo, 2015;Rehavi & Starr, 2012); and police prosecution policies with regard to submitting indictments and implementing plea bargains (Batra, 2015;Baughman et al., 2015;Clair & Winter, 2016;Davis, 2013;Eastwood et al., 2013;Griffith, 2012;Hood, 1992;Kutateladze & Andiloro, 2014;Kutateladze & Lawson, 2016;Savitsky, 2012;Vickers, 2012;Weich & Angulo, 2002). Given the present focus on the relation between punitive discrimination and the security situation, and in order not to repeat the literature review presented in the first article (Einat and Toys, in press), the following presents international studies on this relation in general, as well as studies that examine the relationship between punitive policies in Israel and wartime situations, on the one hand, and the Arab/Jewish ethnicity of defendants on the other. ...
The present article follows upon a previous one dealing with the discrimination of Arab defendants in Israel. If focuses on the effect of wartime on this discrimination by analyzing the acceptance or rejection of requests on behalf of Jewish compared to Arab defendants to revoke convictions in misdemeanors by Israeli magistrate courts in the past 20 years, as a function of periods of heightened hostilities and the judges’ ethnicity. The findings contradict those of the few and outdated studies conducted in the West, by pointing to the lack of influence of wartime situations, regardless of the judges’ or the defendants’ ethnicity. The conclusion is that particular periods of heightened hostilities do not affect the punitive policy against ethnic minorities in a country that consistently discriminates such minorities and is constantly engaged in war or violent conflict.
... Decomposition models are traditionally used in stratification research to unpack wage disparities (Blinder, 1973;Oaxaca, 1973). Building on prior decomposition studies of racial inequalities in prosecution and sentencing, we use decomposition models to understand how much racial and ethnic inequality in pretrial detention, conviction, and incarceration (probability of jail and prison) is a result of differences in average legal and case characteristics between racial and ethnic groups (MacDonald, Arkes, Nicosia, & Pacula, 2014;Owens, Kerrison, & Da Silveira, 2017;Rehavi & Starr, 2014;Sorensen, Sarnikar, & Oaxaca, 2012;Thaxton, 2018). ...
... First, we consider the role that racialized criminal history, pretrial detention, and charging-stemming from criminal legal codes and other laws, as well as organizational policies and practices-have on inequality in court outcomes. We build from a handful of studies that use decomposition methods to understand how much case factors explain sentencing disparities (MacDonald et al., 2014;Owens et al., 2017;Rehavi & Starr, 2014;Sorensen et al., 2012;Thaxton, 2018). We argue that differences in average legal and case characteristics themselves reflect myriad legal and organizational policies that generate inequalities in court outcomes, such as the use of bail decision-making tools and sentencing guidelines that explicitly incorporate prior records, or prosecutorial organizational practices, such as the application of charging enhancements. ...
... As such, prosecutorial power has grown over time (Johnson, King, & Spohn, 2016;Pfaff, 2017), contributing to increased incarceration (Berdejo, 2018;Bushway & Forst, 2013;Pfaff, 2017) and its attendant racial inequalities. For example, prior studies using decomposition methods have found that along with criminal history, charging (especially mandatory minimums) explains much of the Black-White racial disparity in prison sentencing (MacDonald et al., 2014) and sentence length (Owens et al., 2017;Rehavi & Starr, 2014). In other words, mandatory minimums and sentencing enhancements directly build in inequalities into sentencing (Fischman & Scanzenbach, 2012;Lynch & Omori, 2014). ...
A significant body of literature has examined racial and ethnic inequalities in sentencing, focusing on how individual court actors make decisions, but fewer scholars have examined whether disparities are institutionalized through legal case factors. After finding racial and ethnic inequalities in pretrial detention, conviction, and incarceration based on 4 years of felony court data (N = 83,924) from Miami-Dade County, we estimate non-linear decomposition models to examine how much of the inequalities are explained by differences in criminal history, charging, and for conviction and incarceration, pretrial detention. Results suggest that inequality is greatest between White non-Latinos and Black Latinos, followed by White non-Latinos and Black non-Latinos, ranging from 4 to more than 8 percentage points difference in the probability of pretrial detention, 7-13 points difference in conviction, 5-6 points in prison, and 4-10 points difference in jail. We find few differences between White non-Latinos and White Latinos. Between half and three-quarters of the inequality in pretrial detention, conviction, and prison sentences between White non-Latino and Black people is explained through legal case factors. Our findings indicate that inequality is, in part, institutionalized through legal case factors, suggesting these factors are not “race neutral” but instead racialized and contribute to inequalities in court outcomes.
... Blacks are incarcerated at a higher rate than other racial groups [34], a disparity that is greatest among drug offenders [35,36]. This is despite the increased prominence of diversion programs designed to reduce prison entry for those with substance use disorders [37]. ...
Purpose of Review
Opioid overdoses have risen starkly over the last two decades in the USA and are now among the leading causes of overall mortality. This review summarizes the current literature on risk factors for overdose as well as public health solutions.
Recent Findings
Although opioid overdose mortality is highest among men and non-Hispanic whites, the rate of death is rising more rapidly now among women and non-Hispanic blacks. Incarceration remains a significant risk factor for overdose death, especially in the first weeks upon reentry reflecting the absence of treatment in prisons and jails despite strong evidence for the benefits of pharmacotherapy integration into these settings. Pharmacotherapy with either methadone or buprenorphine greatly reduces the risk of overdose; however, treatment discontinuation leads to an increase risk of death.
Summary
Naloxone distribution both through co-prescribing and community-based opioid overdose prevention programs remains the fundament of the public health response. Both are effective and cost-effective in reducing overdose; however, uptake is hampered due to variance in state naloxone access and Good Samaritan laws. Supervised injection facilities are a promising innovation to address overdose, especially in communities with high overdose rates.
... Nicosia et al. (2013) using data from California from a random sample of individuals arrested for drug and alcohol offenses between 1995 and 2005 find that Black-White disparities in prison sentences decreased after controlling for criminal history. Expanding on that work, MacDonald et al. (2014) find that Black-White disparities in prison commitments are fully explained by differences in criminal case characteristics. In general, the literature shows smaller Black-White disparities in prison sentences in studies that control for current charge seriousness and criminal history (Mitchell 2005). ...
... And the drivers of the changes in sentencing may be unconscious racial bias that when interacted with social disadvantage among Blacks relative to Whites places them at greater risk of receiving a prison sentence for a drug offense. On the other hand, we have few examples of whether repealing tougher sentences for drug offenses would reduce racial disparities (see Nicosia et al. 2013;MacDonald et al. 2014 for exceptions). If sentencing policies drove racial disparities by encouraging police to target minorities in open-air drug markets, then repealing these incentives should reduce Black-White disparities in prison sentences for drug offenses. ...
... In this study we improve on our earlier studies that used a simple regression design with covariate adjustment to examine racial disparities in prison and drug treatment admissions in California (Nicosia et al. 2013) and decomposition methods that attributed Black-White disparities in sentences to prison for drug offenses to differences in criminal case characteristics (MacDonald et al. 2014). The main contribution of this earlier work was to examine how racial disparities in sentencing to prison or drug treatment changed after California changed its sentencing laws to increase the number of people diverted from prison on drug-related charges. ...
Objective
This paper addresses previous shortcomings in the literature on racial disparities in incarceration for drug offenders by taking advantage of a change in sentencing policy in California and a rich administrative dataset that is able to create a sample of comparable White and Black offenders.
Method
We use a nonparametric propensity weighting approach to identify similarly situated White and Black male offenders charged with drug-related offenses. We combine this approach with a difference-in-differences model to estimate the effect that a change in California sentencing law for convicted non-violent drug offenders had on racial disparities in prison and drug treatment dispositions.
Results
We find substantial reductions in the probability of a prison sentence after the policy change, but not differentially for Blacks. Blacks remain more likely to go to prison than similarly situated Whites after the policy, although the policy does lead to more referrals to treatment for Blacks.
Conclusions
This paper shows that even after comparing Blacks and Whites in similarly situated contexts that racial disparities in prison commitments remain after sentencing law changes that mandate diversion to drug treatment. The results suggests that addressing racial gaps in the commitments to state prisons will likely require more than shifting the eligibility of drug convictions for prison, as accumulated criminal histories are the primary driver of prison sentences. This means that expanding diversion options from prison alone will not reduce the racial gap in commitments to prison for drug offenses more than incrementally.
... These referrals originate from drug courts, probation, other diversionary processes, and to a lesser extent, parole. Among males convicted of drug-related non-violent offenses in California, Blacks were significantly less likely than Whites to be diverted to drug treatment [32,36], although the disparity decreased somewhat when controlling for criminal record [36]. Still, Black/White disparities were more substantial for dispositions that involved diversions to treatment, compared to Black/White differences in length of prison sentences among those who received prison dispositions. ...
... Still, Black/White disparities were more substantial for dispositions that involved diversions to treatment, compared to Black/White differences in length of prison sentences among those who received prison dispositions. The authors suggested that unchecked discretion by court personnel appeared to influence decisions to divert individuals to drug treatment [32]. ...
... We examine treatment admissions for marijuana use during 2011, and we restricted the analysis to outpatient or community-based treatment (excluding inpatient, hospital, and detoxification services). We also limited our analysis to a single state (North Carolina) so that referrals to treatment were more likely to follow the same regulations, processes, and healthcare payment schemes within the context of treatment availability in one state [32] for justification of single-state analyses. At this writing, recreational and medical marijuana remain illegal in North Carolina, similar to other states in the southeastern USA. ...
Slightly more than half of admissions to U.S. publicly-funded treatment for marijuana use are referred by the criminal justice system; this pattern has remained for at least 20 years. Nationally, Blacks comprise nearly a third of treatment admissions for marijuana use. This article explores the interplay between race and criminal justice referrals to treatment for marijuana use. Using data from the (U.S.) 2011 Treatment Episode Data Set, we examine the relationship between race and diagnosis of cannabis use disorder (dependence versus abuse) among referrals to community-based treatment in North Carolina. We compare Black/White differences in cannabis diagnoses across four referral sources: the criminal justice system, healthcare providers, self, and other sources. Race was significantly related to type of diagnosis across all four referral sources, however, the
nature of the relationship was distinctly different among criminal justice referrals with Whites being more likely than Blacks to be diagnosed with cannabis dependence. Moreover, the marijuana use profiles of criminal justice referrals differed substantially from individuals referred by other sources. The findings suggest that diagnoses of cannabis abuse (rather than dependence) may have worked to widen the diagnostic net by “capturing” individuals under control of the criminal justice system who manifested few problems with marijuana use, other than their involvement in the criminal justice system. The potential for a net-widening effect appeared to be most pronounced for Blacks.
... 22,35 Others discussed how the interaction between poverty, mental illness, lack of insurance, and substance use often result in incarceration for Black women, especially for minor crimes resulting in conviction and sentencing opposed to diversion for treatment. 48,49 In these situations, the root issues are not addressed and women's health problems are in jeopardy of being exacerbated. 50 ...
Black women are disproportionately incarcerated and experience worse health outcomes compared with White and Hispanic women. This systematic literature review aims to identify the major psychosocial determinants of health and service utilization among incarcerated Black women. The ecological model for health behavior was used to frame the literature presented and explain how individual, interpersonal, and societal factors affect health. Nineteen articles met inclusion criteria for this review. Psychosocial factors were identified at each level, including mental health problems (individual); sexual behavior (interpersonal); and dysfunctional/negative relationships (community). The factors interact in a dynamic relationship that influences the health and service utilization of Black women. Future research should examine within-group differences to highlight the unique needs and culture within the Black community in the context of psychosocial determinants. This synthesis of relevant studies can serve to inform change in correctional policies, practices, and help reduce health disparities.
Research Summary
Progressive chief prosecutors, campaigning on platforms calling for reducing prison populations and racial/ethnic disparities, have been elected in numerous jurisdictions across the United States in recent years. Yet, there is no empirical research that compares case outcomes between jurisdictions headed by progressive and traditional chief prosecutors. In this research, we utilize a cumulative case outcome approach that tracks cases from arrest to disposition to examine whether cases prosecuted under progressive chief prosecutors receive less punitive sanctions and exhibit smaller racial/ethnic disparities. We find that cases adjudicated in progressive jurisdictions are more likely to end without a felony conviction and less likely to result in a prison sentence. Racial but not generally ethnic disadvantage is evident in case outcomes, and racial disparities are smaller in jurisdictions led by progressive chief prosecutors.
Policy Implications
The election of progressive prosecutors is a radical departure from earlier approaches aimed at controlling prison populations and mitigating racial disparities. Instead of restricting the discretion of criminal justice actors, voters are relying on progressive, reformist prosecutors to use their enormous discretion in less punitive and more egalitarian fashions. This research indicates that progressive chief prosecutors do, in fact, reduce prison use and racial disparities.
This article examines discrimination in the Israeli criminal justice system based on the ethnic origin (Jewish or Arab) of both defendants and judges. It does so by analyzing all the motions to revoke convictions of misdemeanors filed by defendants of both ethnicities in magistrate (trial-level courts) and district courts (middle-level courts) over the past twenty years, and by comparing the periods prior to and following the entering into effect of the Penal Law Amendment No. 113, 2012, “Structuring Judicial Discretion in Sentencing.” The findings indicate a significantly higher number of non-revocations of convictions of Arab defendants in comparison to Jewish defendants when tried by Jewish judges and a complete lack of discrimination when Arab judges tried defendants of both ethnicities. In other words, Arab judges did not favor one ethnicity over other. The study also found that district courts hardly ever changed decisions by magistrate courts with regard to either ethnic group. Finally, the structuring of judicial discretion did not have any impact on reducing ethnic gaps in revoking convictions. The overall conclusions are that the Israeli judicial and punitive system discriminates against Arab defendants and that for Jewish defendants, this discrimination occurs only in cases where all or most judges are Jewish.
