New Research Proves no Racism in Prosecutions

Timothy Birdnow

New research proves what conservatives have been claiming for a long time, namely, that the disparity in prosecutions and sentencing between whites and blacks in America is not a coefficient of racism but rather a function of the severity and barbarity of the crimes committed aka blacks commit more and worse crimes.

From Physorg:

Well, well, well; we've been told for a long time - and public policy has been moving toward emptying prisons as a result - that it is just racism that causes disparity in prosecutions and sentencing. The article continues:

The new study, led by Christopher Robertson, a professor of law and associate dean for research and innovation at the James E. Rogers College of Law, involved a controlled experiment with prosecutors, asking them to examine the same hypothetical case but changing the race and class of the defendant.

The study, administered online, provided prosecutors with police reports describing a hypothetical crime, which the researchers designed with assistance from experienced prosecutors. All details of the case were the same except for the suspect's race—either black or white—and occupation—fast-food worker or accountant—to indicate the suspect's socioeconomic status. Roughly half of the prosecutors received one version of the case; the other half received the other.

The study allowed researchers to "really isolate the prosecutor's decision-making in a way that mere observational research wouldn't allow," said Robertson, whose co-authors are Shima Baradaran Baughman of the University of Utah and Megan Wright of Penn State. The paper was published in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies.

The outcomes the study looked for included whether prosecutors charged a felony, whether they chose to fine the defendant or seek a prison sentence, and the proposed cost of the fine or length of the sentence.

"When we put all those together, we see the same severity of charges, fines and sentences across all the conditions, whether the defendant was black, whether the defendant was white, whether the defendanthad a high-class career or a low-class career," Robertson said. "Differences in the actual outcomes—in the actual behavior of the prosecutors—is what we would have expected if they were biased. But since we see no difference in the outcomes, we concluded that they were not substantially biased."

Will this end the drive to reduce sentences and equalize prosecutions? Do black thugs hold their hands in the air and say "Hands up! Don't shoot!" and get shot down anyway because they were walking while black?

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 12:05 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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