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Personal and Vicarious Experience with the Criminal Justice System as a Predictor of Punitive Sentencing Attitudes

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Abstract

This study examined the impact of prior personal or vicarious experience with the criminal justice system on sentencing attitudes. Existing research on sentencing attitudes has examined factors such as race, gender, income level, political affiliation, and education level, but few research studies have focused on actual contact with the criminal justice system and its influence on perceptions of sentencing as either too harsh or too lenient. The current study utilized data collected by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. Over 1,500 respondents were surveyed nationwide in 2006 regarding sentencing attitudes. Logistic regression analysis was utilized to assess the impact of factors of interest on sentencing attitudes. Results indicated that individuals who had been charged with a crime (personal experience), or who had an immediate relative or close friend who had been charged (vicarious experience), were more likely to perceive the criminal justice system as too harsh, regardless of race/ethnicity.

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Notes

  1. One possible explanation was the decline of support and rejection Americans had for the Bush administration and its policies among Republicans and Democrats. The high number of individuals in the survey who identified themselves as Independents (outnumbering Republicans) possibly represent former members of the Republican party that changed party affiliation during the Bush Administration. A 2009 Gallup poll indicated a decline in Republican Party affiliation among nearly all demographic groups. A 2001 Gallup poll indicated 45% Democratic Party identification and 44% Republican party affiliation, however, the 2009 poll indicated 53% Democratic party identification and 39% Republican party identification (Jones, 2009). According to Jones (2009), the Bush administration began to lose major support following Hurricane Katrina, George W. Bush’s nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court, and the ongoing war in Iraq. These issues and the lagging economy may have led many Republicans to switch party affiliation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Criminal Justice Department, University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College, 80 Fort Brown, Brownsville, TX, 78520, USA

    Mario A. Davila, Deborah J. Hartley, Kevin Buckler & Steve Wilson

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  1. Mario A. Davila
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  2. Deborah J. Hartley
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  3. Kevin Buckler
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  4. Steve Wilson
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Correspondence to Deborah J. Hartley.

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Davila, M.A., Hartley, D.J., Buckler, K. et al. Personal and Vicarious Experience with the Criminal Justice System as a Predictor of Punitive Sentencing Attitudes. Am J Crim Just 36, 408–420 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-011-9120-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-011-9120-8

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