Darker skin and Afrocentric features predict longer drug sentences and death sentences

Evidence

Studies involving the effects of darker skin and Afrocentricity of features on drug sentences and death penalty decisions are particularly powerful: skin tone and Afrocentric features were associated with significantly longer sentences in drug cases in Florida (Eberhardt et al., 2004) and were correlated with a greater likelihood of receiving the death penalty in cases where the victim was White (Eberhardt et al., 2006). — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 1366

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Eberhardt’s landmark work on Afrocentric features and capital sentencing; also parallels the racial disparities literature from Eubanks and other criminal justice books.
• SHARE: Would send to anyone researching disparity in sentencing — the victim-race interaction is the needle that drops.