
Harvard study: racism best explanation for jail disparities in MA [pdf] - tsimionescu
http://cjpp.law.harvard.edu/assets/Massachusetts-Racial-Disparity-Report-FINAL.pdf
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tsimionescu
From the executive summary:

> Our analysis shows that one factor—racial and ethnic differences in the type
> and severity of initial charge—accounts for over 70 percent of the
> disparities in sentence length. We explore several mechanisms by which
> racial disparities in initial charging decisions lead to the substantial
> average disparities we document. We find that:

\- Black and Latinx people are more likely to have their cases resolved in
Superior Court where the available sentences are longer, both because they are
more likely to receive charges for which the Superior Court exercises
exclusive jurisdiction and because prosecutors are more likely to exercise
their discretion to bring their cases in Superior Court instead of District
Court when there is concurrent jurisdiction.

\- Black and Latinx people charged with drug offenses and weapons offenses are
more likely to be incarcerated and receive longer incarceration sentences than
White people charged with similar offenses. This difference persists after
controlling for charge severity and additional factors.

\- Black and Latinx people charged with offenses carrying mandatory minimum
sentences are substantially more likely to be incarcerated and receive longer
sentences than White people facing charges carrying mandatory minimum
incarceration sentences.

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vixen99
'Figure 1: Criminal System Pipeline' seems to me a really nice example of an
explanatory chart summarizing a complex process.

