Gender Equality and Sentencing Outcomes: An Examination of State Courts

Abstract

The current study examined whether measures of structural gender equality conditioned the effects of defendant gender on incarceration decisions. Using data from the State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) database, multilevel logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between both case- and county-level variables on incarceration decisions on a sample of defendants sentenced in state courts. Results indicated that women were less likely to be sentenced to prison than men, but there was no gender difference for jail and noncustodial sentences; however, the structural gender equality measures exerted only slight influences over sentencing outcomes.

Racial and Gender Threat and the Death Penalty: A County-Level Examination of Sociopolitical Factors Influencing Death Sentences

“…Research has shown that gender equality is an outcome of weakening patriarchal norms and institutional practices (Dilli et al, 2015). Furthermore, studies have shown that extralegal characteristics of a community in which a court operates, such as gender equality, influences punishment outcomes (Kim et al, 2019; Nowacki, 2020; Nowacki & Windsong, 2019). As such, gender equality may be indicative of ideological shifts in the broader communities that a court is situated in (Nowacki, 2020).…”

“…Furthermore, studies have shown that extralegal characteristics of a community in which a court operates, such as gender equality, influences punishment outcomes (Kim et al, 2019; Nowacki, 2020; Nowacki & Windsong, 2019). As such, gender equality may be indicative of ideological shifts in the broader communities that a court is situated in (Nowacki, 2020). With gender so inextricably related to punishment attitudes and support for the death penalty, the reaction to gender equality within a community remains an important factor to understand courtroom decisions.…”

“…Schmuhl et al (2018) found that greater representation of women in parliament was associated with fewer executions carried out between and within countries over time. Other research examines community-level gender equality on sentencing outcomes such as custodial v. non-custodial sentencing (Nowacki, 2020) and sentence length (Freiburger, 2020; Nowacki & Windsong, 2019). Nowacki (2020) found that defendants in counties with greater female labor force participation were negatively associated with jail sentences for men and women, while higher levels of educational attainment for women were associated with a decrease in prison sentences for women.…”

Estado de la cuestión del estudio de la influencia del género en la toma de decisiones judiciales

“…Finalmente, algunos investigadores afirman que las decisiones judiciales pueden verse influidas, a su vez, tanto por las características de la organización en la que trabajan los jueces, esto es, el tipo de juzgado, su tamaño, su localización y la cultura judicial (Nowacki, 2019;Pina-Sánchez & Grech, 2018), como por la valoración que los propios jueces hacen de las consecuencias que pueden tener sus decisiones sobre las personas implicadas (Steffensmeier et al, 1998).…”

“…Entre los estudios que sí hallan diferencias, son pocos los que sostienen que las mujeres reciben un trato más duro por parte de los jueces (Franklin & Fearn, 2008). La mayoría señala que las mujeres reciben un trato más benévolo que los hombres (Bontrager et al, 2013;Daly & Bordt, 1995;Herzog & Oreg, 2008;Koons-White et al, 2014;Nowacki, 2019;Pina-Sánchez & Harris, 2020;Starr, 2015;Steffensmeier, 1980, Stancu & Varona, 2017, es decir, se las condena menos que a ellos, se les imponen menos penas de prisión y estas suelen ser de menor duración (Steffensmeier & Faulkner, 1978). De hecho, los dos meta-análisis realizados hasta la fecha en esta materia (Bontrager, et al, 2013;Daly & Bordt, 1995) confirman esta idea.…”