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Mental illness, race, gender and sentencing in state homicide cases

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  • Sohoni, Tracy
  • Piatkowska, Sylwia J.

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between mental health and sentence length of homicide offenders in U.S. state courts, using a framework of focal concerns theory while incorporating an intersectional perspective. While legal and psychological scholars have argued that mental illness should serve as a mitigating factor in capital cases, it is also possible for mental illness to be viewed like an aggravating factor due to concerns about the individual's dangerousness. Given the high prevalence of mental illness among incarcerated individuals, any link between mental health and sentencing could affect a significant number of people. We employ negative binomial regression models across five waves of the Survey of Prison Inmates (SPI) to analyze this relationship. Our findings indicate that mental illness is related to differences in sentences for homicide defendants, with the impact varying by race, gender, and homicide type. Analyzing these results through the lens of focal concerns theory, we suggest that further research is warranted.

Suggested Citation

  • Sohoni, Tracy & Piatkowska, Sylwia J., 2025. "Mental illness, race, gender and sentencing in state homicide cases," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:97:y:2025:i:c:s004723522500025x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2025.102376
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Piatkowska, Sylwia J. & Sohoni, Tracy & Paige, Briana, 2024. "Mental illness, focal concerns, and intersectionality: The relationship between types of mental illness, types of crime, and race and gender in sentencing in state courts," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    2. Traci Burch, 2015. "Skin Color and the Criminal Justice System: Beyond Black‐White Disparities in Sentencing," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(3), pages 395-420, September.
    3. Sonja B. Starr, 2015. "Estimating Gender Disparities in Federal Criminal Cases," American Law and Economics Review, American Law and Economics Association, vol. 17(1), pages 127-159.
    4. Metzl, J.M. & MacLeish, K.T., 2015. "Mental Illness, mass shootings, and the politics of American firearms," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 105(2), pages 240-249.
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