Racial inequality in sentencing has decreased substantially over the last decade. In 2009, the average sentencing difference between black and white defendants in federal court was nearly 3 yrs. By 2018, this difference was less than 6 mos. Among drug offenders over this same period, the black–white gap went from 47 mos. down to zero. Yet, despite the fact that racial inequality in the legal system remains at the fore of sociological discourse, these developments remain conspicuously under-evaluated and the underlying processes driving these changes remain unknown. This article fills this gap by applying longitudinal decomposition methods to US District Court data between 2009 and 2018. Three notable findings emerge. First, the declining racial gap was driven, in equal parts, by decreasing black sentences and increasing white sentences. Second, black and white sentences became more equal almost entirely due to changes in observable case characteristics and not due to changes in the treatment of offenders. Third, shifts in the prosecutorial use of mandatory minimums played a critical role in decreasing black–white sentencing inequality.

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刑事判决中种族的下降意义：来自美国联邦法院的证据

在过去十年中，量刑方面的种族不平等已大大减少。2009年，联邦法院黑人和白人被告的平均量刑相差近3年。到 2018 年，这一差异不到 6 个月。在同一时期的毒品犯罪者中，黑白差距从 47 个月开始。降至零。然而，尽管法律体系中的种族不平等仍然是社会学讨论的焦点，但这些发展仍然明显被低估，推动这些变化的潜在过程仍然未知。本文通过将纵向分解方法应用于 2009 年至 2018 年间美国地方法院的数据来填补这一空白。出现了三个值得注意的发现。首先，种族差距的缩小在同等程度上是由减少黑人判决和增加白人判决所推动的。第二，黑白句子变得更加平等几乎完全是由于可观察的案件特征的变化，而不是由于罪犯待遇的变化。第三，检察机关使用强制最低限度的转变在减少黑白量刑不平等方面发挥了关键作用。