Relatively neglected in the literature on law and society has been the growing racial disparity in imprisonment observed during the era of mass imprisonment and the considerable geographic variation in the magnitude of this disparity. While some scholars have explored possible explanations for the observed racial disproportionalities during this period, they have focused on state-level patterns that mask significant within-state variation in the outcome. What is more, although the few published studies examining contemporary racial disparities in imprisonment rates have documented several key correlates, they have not devoted systematic attention to the role of history in explaining the observed patterns. This dissertation advances the theoretical and empirical literature on race and social control by examining both the historical origins and more localized social, economic, and political conditions that may explain racial disparities in imprisonment observed during the past several decades. Specifically, the study develops and tests models of between- and within-county variation in the black-white imprisonment gap from the early 1980s through the mid-2000s. The dissertation is organized around three overarching empirical questions related to county-level black-white disparities in prison admission rates. First, what is the nature of the spatial distribution of county-level racial disparities in prison admission rates observed during the contemporary era? Second, which social, economic, and political factors are most germane for explaining variation in racial disparities across American counties (within states) and over time? Finally, are contemporary racial disparities in imprisonment observed since the 1980s also a reflection of historically embedded conditions (i.e., state lynching rates and historical levels of state racial disparities in imprisonment)? These questions were examined using a panel dataset constructed to capture historical context and contemporary conditions for much of the mass imprisonment era. The key dependent variable--the black-white gap in prison admission rates (the natural log of the non-Hispanic white imprisonment rate subtracted from the natural log of the non-Hispanic black imprisonment rate)--was constructed using geocoded data on prison admissions from the National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The two race-specific components used to compute this measure also were considered as outcomes to inform the findings observed for the black-white gap in prison admission rates. Using methods of exploratory spatial data analysis, significant univariate spatial dependence of racial disparities in imprisonment was observed. However, subsequent analyses indicated that this dependence was explained by the spatial distribution of theoretically germane explanatory variables. Multilevel mixed model regressions revealed significant variation in the black-white gap in prison admission rates during the era of mass incarceration both across and within counties. Drawing from the theoretical literature, several hypotheses were posed to explain this variability. The results indicated some support for hypotheses drawn from perspectives of interracial contact, economic threat, and religious fundamentalism, but no support for those relating to the influence of conservative political environments on racial disparities in post-arrest criminal justice processing. More specifically, interracial contact and relative economic conditions were found to have important implications for post-arrest decision-making. Counties with relatively large and growing white populations exhibited significant increases in the prison admission rates of blacks, and decreases in the rates of white imprisonment, yielding greater black-white disparities. Additionally, the black-white imprisonment gap was found to be significantly larger where black economic disadvantage was more prominent than white disadvantage. The results also suggest that growing racial segregation in housing contributed to increased levels of imprisonment of blacks relative to whites, a finding consistent with notions that segregation promotes anti-black effect, which is then translated into greater social control against blacks. Finally, no support was found for hypotheses drawn from partisan political perspectives; conservative political environments at the state-level were not found to play a significant role in explaining county-variation in black-white disparities in prison admission rates. Findings from the analysis incorporating historical measures of social control yielded no support for the idea that the geographic distribution of contemporary imprisonment rates parallel historical lynching patterns. However, the evidence does suggest that contemporary racial disparities may be a continuation of past imprisonment patterns. Specifically, counties nested within states that exhibited greater black-white imprisonment rates in 1960 were found to have significantly greater black-white disparities during the contemporary era. This appears to be a function of relatively low white imprisonment rates where black and white imprisonment rates historically were more equal. Future research points to the need for greater attention to the national-level influences and local political conditions affecting post-arrest criminal justice decision-making. Further, while it appears that historically rooted conditions may be relevant for explaining contemporary racial disparities, focused examination of how the social control of blacks has transformed throughout penal reform is necessary. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2014. / July 17, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references. / Eric P. Baumer, Professor Directing Dissertation; Keith R. Ihlanfeldt, University Representative; Eric A. Stewart, Committee Member; Patricia Y. Warren, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_253598 |
| Contributors | Arnio, Ashley N. (authoraut), Baumer, Eric P. (professor directing dissertation), Ihlanfeldt, Keith R. (university representative), Stewart, Eric A. (committee member), Warren, Patricia Y. (committee member), College of Criminology and Criminal Justice (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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