Alongside capital punishment, sentences to life without the possibility of parole are one of the most distinctive aspects of the American system of criminal punishment. Unlike the death penalty, though, almost no empirical work has examined the decision to impose life imprisonment. The current study analyzes several years of recent federal sentencing data (FY2010–FY2017) to investigate underlying sources of racial disparity in life without parole sentences. The analysis reveals disparities in who receives life imprisonment, but it finds these differences are attributable mostly to indirect mechanisms built into the federal sentencing system, such as the mode of conviction, mandatory minimums, and guidelines departures. Both Black and Hispanic offenders are more likely to be eligible for life sentences under the federal guidelines, but conditional on being eligible, they are not more likely to receive life sentences. Findings are discussed in relation to ongoing debates over racial inequality and the growing role that life imprisonment plays in American exceptionalism in punishment.

中文翻译：

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生活课程：在没有假释判决的情况下检查联邦生活中种族和民族差异的根源*

除死刑外，不得假释的无期徒刑是美国刑事处罚制度最独特的方面之一。然而，与死刑不同的是，几乎没有实证研究考察过判处终身监禁的决定。当前的研究分析了最近几年的联邦量刑数据（2010 财年至 2017 财年），以调查没有假释判决的生活中种族差异的潜在来源。分析揭示了在谁被判无期徒刑方面存在差异，但发现这些差异主要归因于联邦量刑系统中内置的间接机制，例如定罪模式、强制性最低限度和指导方针的偏离。根据联邦指导方针，黑人和西班牙裔罪犯更有可能被判无期徒刑，但以符合资格为条件，他们不太可能被判无期徒刑。研究结果与关于种族不平等的持续辩论以及无期徒刑在美国惩罚例外论中所扮演的日益重要的角色有关。