ABSTRACT
Although charges of racial discrimination have been leveled at all stages of the criminal justice process, much of the harshest criticism has focused on judges' sentencing decisions. Critics of the sentencing process contend that crimes by racial minorities are punished more harshly than are similar crimes by equally culpable whites. Other scholars have challenged this assertion, contending that the harsher sentences imposed on racial minorities reflect the seriousness of their crimes and prior criminal records, as well as other legally relevant factors that judges consider in determining the appropriate sentence. The findings of over 40 years of research on the effect of race on sentencing have not resolved this debate (for reviews, see Chiricos & Crawford, 1995; Spohn, 2000; Zatz, 1987).
