Victim Injury and Its Consequences: Assessing the Effects of Macro-Social Contexts on Punishment Dispositions

Abstract

Because of its physical, psychological, and economic costs, victimization is a major concern for scholars and policymakers. To date, however, few studies have investigated how victim injury influences punishment across contexts. The current study fills this void by assessing whether the size of racial and ethnic populations conditions the effect of victim injury and injury severity on sentencing outcomes for race-specific defendants. We find support for the threat hypotheses. Specifically, victim injury and injury severity increase the probability of receiving an incarceration decision for all defendants, in counties with larger Black and Latino populations. We discuss the implications of these findings and avenues for future research.