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Perceptions of Justice: Race and Gender Differences in Judgments of Appropriate Prison Sentences

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2024

J. L. Miller ,
Peter H. Rossi  and
Jon E. Simpson
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Abstract

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This paper reports on research focused on measuring perceptions of justice vis-a-vis an examination of consensus in perceptions of appropriate punishments for convicted offenders. We used a factorial survey design to measure and analyze both the global judgments formed by individuals as well as the judgment-making principles that characterize the race by gender segments of the general population of one jurisdiction.

A proximity-to-crime perspective leads us to expect structured similarities and differences in judgments of appropriate prison sentences. A global judgment agreement indicator suggests consensus across the race by gender segments of the Boston metropolitan area over which crimes are serious and trivial. The same indicator, however, shows dissensus within the general population regarding perceptions of appropriate levels of punishment.

The research findings suggest that perceived or subjective proximity to crime has stronger implications than objective proximity for judgments of punishments for convicted offenders. The paper concludes that a sense of injustice in regard to punishments prevails for some segments of the general population.

Type
Research Article
Information
Law & Society Review , Volume 20 , Issue 3 , 1986 , pp. 313 - 334
Copyright
Copyright © 1986 The Law and Society Association

Footnotes

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation, Law and Society Program, Grant SES-8121745. We are thankful to Mary Simpson, Aida Rodriquez, and Eleanor Weber-Burdin for their assistance in data collection and data management. Anonymous reviewers and members of the Sorrento Seminar, especially Harry Potter, made helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

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