The State of Sentencing: Examining the Disparity of Male and Female Sentences

This research examines the disparity in sentence severity between male and female offenders. The goal is to reveal sentencing disparity in the criminal justice system between men and women for the same crime. We begin with how biological sex influences the criminal justice system during plea bargaining and enlightens the disparities in the sentencing process.  It has been established that accused female offenders are more likely than accused males to have the charges against them reduced or dropped, especially in misdemeanor or non-violent felony cases. Feeding into this disparity is a common practice in the criminal justice system known as the chivalry hypothesis, which outlines how chivalry influences justice officials to give women special treatment. This is particularly true when the crime is murder: men were more likely to receive the death penalty than women. This paper also examines the offender-victim relationship, as a man who kills a woman is more likely to be put to death than a man who kills another man. The discrepancy in sentencing trends among sex crimes is also examined, where the general rule of men receiving harsher punishments than women is the most apparent. Male sex offenders will be sent to prison and/or receive longer prison sentences than female sex offenders, especially in cases involving minors. We conclude with a look at the biological sex of the sentencing judge, where it is shown that female judges imposed harsher sentences (especially against black offenders that have prior convictions) compared to male judges for similar cases.