Responses to More Severe Punishment in the Courtroom: Evidence from Truth-in-Sentencing Laws
29 Pages Posted: 5 Aug 2009 Last revised: 14 Dec 2011
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Responses to More Severe Punishment in the Courtroom: Evidence from Truth-in-Sentencing Laws
Responses to More Severe Punishment in the Courtroom: Evidence from Truth-in-Sentencing Laws
Date Written: December 14, 2009
Abstract
We investigate the behavioral responses of judges and prosecutors to more severe punishments by analyzing the effects of Truth-in-Sentencing (TIS) laws in a large sample of criminal cases. The TIS laws raised the severity of punishment by requiring offenders to serve at least 85 percent of their imposed sentences in prison. Differences between the U.S. states in the timing of adoption and the types of crimes covered provide a source of identification. The key findings are: (1) The TIS laws reduced the probability that an arrested offender is eventually convicted by 9 percent through an increase in the probability that the case is dismissed, a reduction in the probability that the defendant pleads guilty, and a reduction in the probability that the defendant is convicted at trial. (2) The TIS laws reduced the imposed sentence that a defendant can expect upon arrest by 8 percent. (3) These effects were more pronounced for crimes that were not the primary target of the TIS law, i.e., non-violent crimes.
Keywords: criminal procedure, litigation process, criminal law
JEL Classification: K00, K41, K14
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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