I examine public support for sentencing reform for nonviolent offenders situated within a justice reinvestment context.
I analyze data from a survey administered to a nationally representative sample of White and Black Americans. I pay particular attention to differences in support between the two races, and I analyze the degree to which ideological beliefs explain interracial differences. I find that a larger number of both Black and White people support, rather than oppose, sentencing property and drug offenders to community-based sanctions instead of prison, but the likelihood that a person will express support or opposition is related to several ideological beliefs and demographic characteristics. I find that racism and the belief that the criminal justice system is fair mediate the relationship between race and support for sentencing property offenders to community-based sanctions, but race continues to exert an independent effect in regard to sentencing drug offenders. (Publisher abstract provided)
Downloads
Similar Publications
- The mediating role of avoidance coping between intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization, mental health, and substance abuse among women experiencing bidirectional IPV
- Between and within-person relations between psychological wellbeing and distress in adolescence: A random intercept cross-lagged panel examination
- Cumulative Disadvantage and the Role of Transportation in Community Supervision