Criminology Commons^™

Sentencing Outcomes Of The Older Prison Population: An Exploration Of The Age Leniency Argument., Anita N. Blowers, Jill K. Doerner

Jill K Doerner

Using data compiled by the United States Sentencing Commission, we examine whether defendants sentenced in US federal courts are shown leniency based on their age, paying particular attention to the outcomes of older defendants (age 50 and over). One way in which this research is unique is that it focuses exclusively on a sample of older offenders and makes more precise distinctions by separately examining three categories of ‘elderly’ offenders – the ‘young-old,’ the ‘middle-old,’ and the ‘oldestold.’ Consistent with prior research, our findings indicate an age leniency effect where younger defendants (the ‘young-old’) had the highest odds and older …