Katherine Durante

Provides an overview and assessment of how COVID-19 is impacting, and will continue to impact people incarcerated and the people who work in jails, prisons, and detention facilities. We make recommendations to correctional administrators and policy makers for mitigating the negative impacts that COVID-19 is having on these marginalized populations. Note that this report is written for an audience of practitioners and policy makers. 

Findings indicate that counties with larger Black populations, that are more politically conservative, that have increased levels of segregation, that have less Black-White income inequality, and that are located in the South have less Black-White racial inequality in prison admissions for drug offenses.Findings indicate that counties with larger Black populations, that are more politically conservative, that have increased levels of segregation, that have less Black-White income inequality, and that are located in the South have less Black-White racial inequality in prison admissions for drug offenses.

African Americans and Latinos receive longer sentences than White offenders when controlling for individual- and county-level factors. Larger percentages of Black and Latino residents is not associated with increased sentence lengths. Increased macro-level socioeconomic inequality and political climate are not significant predictors of longer sentence lengths for Black and Latino offenders. Findings indicate that race and ethnicity continue to be salient predictors of punishment, with minorities.