The Relationship between Gender and Sentencing of Youth Homicide Offenders
Start Date
2023 4:00 PM
Location
Alter Hall Poster Session 2 - 3rd floor
Abstract
In looking at the juvenile justice system, the relationship between gender and sentencing has hardly been analyzed or understood. Perhaps due to a lack of research, the little literature in this area suggests that gender has an impact on the guilty adjudication and lengthy prison sentencing of youth offenders (Swayze & Buskovick, 2011). This study looked at the relationship between gender and prison sentencing among youth homicide offenders, ages 12-17 in Hamilton County, OH, from January 2018 to December of 2022, who were tried and sentenced as adults. The purpose of this study was to discover more information regarding the impact that gender could have on the sentencing of youth homicide offenders, as there is little to no research in this area. This study utilized an observational research design, in which data collection and analysis took place by observing pre-collected data from the Hamilton County Public Defender’s database (JCMS). Over a two-week process, this data was collected, stored in two different excel files, and then analyzed through the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The data collected looked at the youth offender’s gender, age, and prison sentencing time length (years). Participants included thirteen youth homicide offenders, two of which were female and eleven of which were male. Findings highlighted that while male offenders had an average of 16.3 years in sentencing, female offenders had an average of 21 years. Additionally, a correlation test ran on this study accepted the null hypothesis, in that the significance level of .564 > .05, meaning this study lacks statistical significance. However, the maximum sentence given to a youth homicide offender was to a female: 40 years to life in prison. Further, this study does hold clinical significance, as information on gender and sentencing has never been studied in the Hamilton County Juvenile Justice System before. Although, the limited size of the female offender sample greatly affected the results of this study. Other limiting factors included a small sample size overall, limited access to information on this topic, and time limitations on collecting and analyzing research. This study sought to understand if there was a relationship between the gender and prison sentencing of youth homicide offenders. Further, the clinical significance of this study warrants deeper research into the relationship between gender and sentencing within the juvenile justice system.
The Relationship between Gender and Sentencing of Youth Homicide Offenders
Alter Hall Poster Session 2 - 3rd floor
In looking at the juvenile justice system, the relationship between gender and sentencing has hardly been analyzed or understood. Perhaps due to a lack of research, the little literature in this area suggests that gender has an impact on the guilty adjudication and lengthy prison sentencing of youth offenders (Swayze & Buskovick, 2011). This study looked at the relationship between gender and prison sentencing among youth homicide offenders, ages 12-17 in Hamilton County, OH, from January 2018 to December of 2022, who were tried and sentenced as adults. The purpose of this study was to discover more information regarding the impact that gender could have on the sentencing of youth homicide offenders, as there is little to no research in this area. This study utilized an observational research design, in which data collection and analysis took place by observing pre-collected data from the Hamilton County Public Defender’s database (JCMS). Over a two-week process, this data was collected, stored in two different excel files, and then analyzed through the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The data collected looked at the youth offender’s gender, age, and prison sentencing time length (years). Participants included thirteen youth homicide offenders, two of which were female and eleven of which were male. Findings highlighted that while male offenders had an average of 16.3 years in sentencing, female offenders had an average of 21 years. Additionally, a correlation test ran on this study accepted the null hypothesis, in that the significance level of .564 > .05, meaning this study lacks statistical significance. However, the maximum sentence given to a youth homicide offender was to a female: 40 years to life in prison. Further, this study does hold clinical significance, as information on gender and sentencing has never been studied in the Hamilton County Juvenile Justice System before. Although, the limited size of the female offender sample greatly affected the results of this study. Other limiting factors included a small sample size overall, limited access to information on this topic, and time limitations on collecting and analyzing research. This study sought to understand if there was a relationship between the gender and prison sentencing of youth homicide offenders. Further, the clinical significance of this study warrants deeper research into the relationship between gender and sentencing within the juvenile justice system.
