TY - JOUR
T1 - Explaining Sentence Severity in Large Urban Counties
T2 - A Multilevel Analysis of Contextual and Case-Level Factors
AU - Weidner, Robert R.
AU - Frase, Richard
AU - Pardoe, Iain
PY - 2004/6
Y1 - 2004/6
N2 - This study used hierarchical logistic modeling to examine the impact of legal, extralegal, and contextual variables on the decision to sentence felons to prison in a sample of large urban counties in 1996. None of the four contextual (county-level) variables—the level of crime, unemployment rate, racial composition, and region—increased the likelihood of a prison sentence, but 10 case-level factors, both legal and extralegal, and several macro-micro interaction terms were influential. These results demonstrate the importance of considering smaller geographic units (i.e., counties instead of states) and controlling for case-level factors in research on interjurisdictional differences in prison use.
AB - This study used hierarchical logistic modeling to examine the impact of legal, extralegal, and contextual variables on the decision to sentence felons to prison in a sample of large urban counties in 1996. None of the four contextual (county-level) variables—the level of crime, unemployment rate, racial composition, and region—increased the likelihood of a prison sentence, but 10 case-level factors, both legal and extralegal, and several macro-micro interaction terms were influential. These results demonstrate the importance of considering smaller geographic units (i.e., counties instead of states) and controlling for case-level factors in research on interjurisdictional differences in prison use.
KW - contextual factors
KW - county sentencing variations
KW - hierarchical modeling
KW - prison sentences
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=2642546538&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=2642546538&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0032885504265077
DO - 10.1177/0032885504265077
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:2642546538
SN - 0032-8855
VL - 84
SP - 184
EP - 207
JO - The Prison Journal
JF - The Prison Journal
IS - 2
ER -