Analysis: Use Caution in Interpreting Relationship Between Offender Race and Prison Sentencing

State Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Dallet wrote recently, according to a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that a study on race and prison sentencing in Wisconsin “confirms what I and many others have been saying, which is that we have a long way yet to go to have a system that truly treats all equally. We should continue to examine this issue and be proactive in the courts on reducing and eliminating racial bias.”

Her statement indicates that she believes a study by the Wisconsin Court System’s Office of Research and Justice Statistics done in January 2020 provided evidence that the courts in Wisconsin are biased against minorities — a serious accusation coming from a Supreme Court justice.

The study itself did not use the term “bias.” Rather, it alluded to “differences by race.” Dallet, however, was not the only one to apparently conclude that troubling differences in sentences handed down by her fellow judges were the result of bias. The journalist who reported her statement, Daniel Bice, referred to the report as a “racial bias study.”

Was it?

Read Mike Nichols' full introduction here.

Analysis: Use caution in interpreting relationship between offender race and prisoner sentencing

Methodology used in Wisconsin Supreme Court study can produce biased findings

By Andrew Hanson, Ph.D. | May 14, 2021

The Wisconsin Court System’s Office of Research and Justice Statistics (ORJS) recently drafted a report titled “Race and Prison Sentencing in Wisconsin” (referred to hereafter as “the report”). The findings are sobering: Black men are 28% more likely to receive a prison sentence than white men, while Hispanic men are 19% more likely to receive a prison sentence than white men.

The frontline findings of the report represent a useful quantification of average differences between groups that can be used to help the public and policymakers think about what the root causes of the disparity might be.

In using the report’s findings to inform policy discussions, it is also important to consider some major limitations of the methodology used in the study and what questions remain unanswered.

Read the full analysis here.

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