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Hidden Disparities: Decomposing Inequalities in Time Served in California, 1985–2009

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Evelyn J. Patterson
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Abstract

While a large literature establishes the racial and ethnic disparities in sentencing, we know comparatively little about the role of race and ethnicity in prison release. Using data from the National Corrections Reporting Program contextualized in California's political and legislative atmosphere, this article explores the role of race and ethnicity in prison release between 1985 and 2009 by studying components of sentencing and release. Limiting the evaluation of disparities to sentencing or time served in prison at release may inadvertently mask racial and ethnic inequities in the judicial process because events and actors can introduce circumstances between sentencing and release from prison that ultimately influence time served. The analysis confirmed that the measures used at the time of sentencing do not provide enough information to determine the differential experiences of groups in the real amount of time served in prison.© 2014 Law and Society Association

Type
Penal Law & Society
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 49 , Issue 2 , June 2015 , pp. 467 - 498
Copyright
© 2015 Law and Society Association.

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Footnotes

The author would like to acknowledge Leslie Rodriguez for the contribution she made to this paper.

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