Date of Award
Fall 5-18-2024
Document Type
Honors Project
University Scholars Director
Dr. Joshua Tom
First Advisor/Committee Member
Dr. Jessica Fossum
Second Advisor/Committee Member
Dr. Jennifer McKinney
Keywords
Gender and Sentencing, Quantitative, Regression, Sociology, Sentencing Disparity, Hegemonic Masculinity
Abstract
Using data from the United States Sentencing Commission (2014–2022), this study analyzes the effect of defendant gender on sentencing outcomes across various crime types, with a focus on violent crime. While prior research consistently finds that female defendants receive lenient sentences, few studies examine how this effect varies across crime types. Aggression and violence are often perceived as inherently male traits, and individuals who defy gender expectations may face social sanctions. Women who commit violent crimes defy gender expectations and may receive harsher punishment as a result.
This study hypothesizes that female defendants experience less leniency in sentencing for violent crimes compared to nonviolent crimes. Logistic and linear regression analyses on eight years of federal sentencing data (n = 326,470) assess the effect of a defendant's gender on incarceration decisions and sentence length (in months) across four crime types: violent, drug, white-collar, and other crime. Results show that, compared to male defendants, female defendants receive sentencing leniency across all crime categories, both in incarceration decisions and sentence length. This leniency is most drastic for violent crime, where female defendants had 55% lower odds of incarceration and received significantly shorter sentences than male counterparts.
These findings confirm sentencing leniency for female defendants persists in recent federal sentencing data and highlights its variation across crime types. Understanding how societal perceptions of gender and other demographic factors shape judicial decisions is essential for promoting a fair justice system.
Recommended Citation
Blue, Emily, "The Effect of Defendant Gender in Violent Crime Sentencing: An Analysis of Federal Crime Sentences" (2024). Honors Projects. 230.
https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/honorsprojects/230
Copyright Status
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Additional Rights Information
Copyright held by author.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Included in
Criminology Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons, Social Statistics Commons
Comments
A project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the University Scholars Honors Program.