Committee Chair

Iles, Gales D.

Committee Member

Park, Soeng; Bumphus, Vic W.

Department

Dept. of Criminal Justice and Legal Assistant Studies

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

A large volume of sentencing research has examined the effects of offender characteristics on sentencing outcomes. Most of this research has focused on offender race/ethnicity. Despite the growth of immigration debates in the United States, there is limited knowledge on the role played by citizenship status. The current study builds upon that body of sentencing literature by going beyond the examination of the legal status of offenders to explore whether sentencing outcomes vary according to geographical location of citizenship. Specifically, federal sentencing data is used to assess whether the length of sentence for non-US citizens convicted of drug trafficking is influenced by the geographical region of the offender country of citizenship. Findings revealed that defendants from Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Middle East/North Africa and the South/Central American regions were treated more severely than defendants from the Mexican region. However, once control variables were added the sentence imposed upon offenders from the Mexican region was harsher than sentences given to defendants from the Caribbean region. Implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Degree

M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science.

Date

5-2015

Subject

Sentences (Criminal procedure); Discrimination in criminal justice administration; Criminal justice, Administration of; Prison sentences -- United States

Keyword

Immigration; Sentencing; Region of Citizenship; Citizenship Status; Focal concern perspective; Unwarranted sentencing disparity

Document Type

Masters theses

DCMI Type

Text

Extent

viii, 46 leaves

Language

English

Rights

https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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