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

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.