An Analysis of Black–White Racial Differences in Public Support for Nonviolent Sentencing Reform

Abstract

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.