Differential treatment of incarcerated female offenders: the interactive effects of race, familial status, and type of crime on length of sentence

Abstract

This study used self-report dab, obtained in a study phics. funded by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and carried out by researchers at Texas A&M University, to examine the interactive effectsof race, familial status, and type of crime on the length of sentence handed down to female felony offenders, in the state of Texas. More specifically, it asked if there were differences in the sanctioning (in terms of sentence length received) of women based on the marital statuses they held, the presence of children, their economic dependency, and the type of crime they committed, and were these effects conditioned by the race of the female offender. It was found that the presence of children and marital status had no effect on sanctioning at this stage of processing. However, economic dependency and type of crime did condition the sanctioning of female offenders and these effects varied according to the race of the offender. More specifically, black and Hispanic women were sanctioned more severely when they were economically dependent on welfare and when they committed drug offenses. These findings suggested that more research is needed in this area, in order to determine what factors result in discriminatory treatment of women offenders in the criminal justice systems.