| The Sentencing Reform Act was created to eliminate sentencing disparity, but some sentences may affect one defendant more severely than another, based on the offender's personal characteristics. This study analyzed downward departures and offender characteristics under the federal sentencing guidelines and examined whether judges depart for reasons associated with personal offender characteristics that the guidelines state are "not ordinarily relevant". Offender characteristics which are considered "not ordinarily relevant" include age, education and vocational skills, mental and emotional conditions, physical condition (including alcohol and drug dependence), employment record, family ties and responsibilities, and community ties. Additionally, certain offender characteristics, such as criminal history of the offender, the defendant's role in the offense, race of the defendant, and the offender's gender were examined to address the relevance of certain offender characteristics and downward departures. Federal sentencing data from the United States Sentencing Commission were used to investigate which factors, such as age, education, employment status, were predictive of downward departures. Judicial decisions appeared to be influenced by the social characteristics of the offender. Those characteristics that appeared to be most influential were physical condition (including drug dependence or abuse), previous employment, and family ties and responsibilities of the offender. The legally prescribed factors, such as criminal history and defendants' role in the offense, were also most strongly related to downward departures. The extra-legal variable, race, was also a predictor of downward departure. This research reveals that even though the sentencing guidelines seek to reduce sentencing differences, judges are still influenced by the background characteristics of the offender. |
