The Changing Forms of Racial/Ethnic Biases in Sentencing

1987/02/01 by MARJORIE S. ZATZ

paper · doi:10.1177/0022427887024001005

crossref issued 1987/02/01 · crossref published 1987/02/01 · crossref published-online 1987/02/01 · crossref published-print 1987/02/01 · crossref created 2007/03/11 · crossref deposited 2026/04/30 · crossref indexed 2026/07/28

Abstract

Racial/ethnic discrimination in criminal justice processing has been the subject of heated debate for several decades. This article traces findings from four historical waves of research on sentencing disparities. Particular attention is given to changes in research methodologies and data sources, the social contexts within which research has been conducted, and the various forms that bias can manifest. It explores the change from findings of overt racial/ethnic disparities to more subtle, but still systematic, institutionalized biases. In so doing, the movement toward determinate sentencing is discussed, and the biases identified are partially explained by the need for the system to maintain legitimacy in the face of social change.

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