‘Would You Prefer Jail or Probation?’ Differences in Sanctioning Preferences among White, Black, and Latinx Adults

• Author: Eric J. Wodahl,Leanne Fiftal Alarid,John H. Bowman
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00328855221109799
• Published date: 01 September 2022
• Date: 01 September 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

‘Would You Prefer Jail or

Probation?’Differences

in Sanctioning

Preferences among

White, Black, and

Latinx Adults

Eric J. Wodahl

1

,

Leanne Fiftal Alarid

2

,

and John H. Bowman, IV

3

Abstract

Research on perceptions of sanction severity reveals a gap between White

and Black respondents in terms of their preferences for incarceration com-

pared to alternative punishments. Little is known, however, about Latinx

preferences. Using a sample of jail inmates, we explore differences across

White, Black, and Latinx respondents in terms of their preferences for incar-

ceration versus probation, as well as the factors that relate to these prefer-

ences. Findings show that White respondents prefer probation far more

frequently than Black and Latinx respondents. Additionally, factors which

relate to sanctioning preferences for Whites are fundamentally different

than those for Black and Latinx adults.

Keywords

perceptions of sanction severity, latinx, race and ethnicity, jail, probation,

crime sanctions

1

University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA

2

University of Texas at El Paso, TX, USA

3

Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green OH, USA

Corresponding Author:

Eric J. Wodahl, University of Wyoming Department of Criminal Justice & Sociology,

1000 E. University Ave, 303 A&S Building, Laramie, WY, 82071, USA.

Email: ewodahl@uwyo.edu

Article

The Prison Journal

2022, Vol. 102(4) 395–416

© 2022 SAGE Publications

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/00328855221109799

journals.sagepub.com/home/tpj

Introduction

Over the last three decades, a substantial body of research known more

recently as “penal consciousness”(Sexton, 2015) has emerged and increased

our understanding of how individuals in the justice system subjectively per-

ceive the severity or punitiveness of various criminal sanctions. Spurred by

the mass implementation of intermediate sanction programs at the close of

the 20

th

century, this research has focused primarily on understanding how

individuals view the severity of alternative sanctions to spending time in

prison or jail. In general, these studies have revealed that traditionally held

beliefs about the continuum of sanctions that place community-based punish-

ments at the low end of the punitiveness scale and incarceration at the high

end are too simplistic (Crouch, 1993; Petersilia & Deschenes, 1994;

Spelman, 1995; Wood & Grasmick, 1999). As one example of this, a study

by Crouch (1993) found that a substantial portion of prison inmates in

Texas would choose spending time in prison over a probation sentence.

Similarly, a study by Wood and Grasmick (1999) revealed that prison

inmates in Oklahoma viewed a variety of community-based sanctions as

being more punitive than prison, including day reporting, intensive supervi-

sion probation (ISP), and electronic monitoring.

A durable f‌inding in the punishment severity research is that there appears

to be a high degree of variability across individuals in terms of how they per-

ceive the punitiveness of correctional sanctions. In turn, this has naturally led

researchers to examine the factors that inf‌luence these perceptions (May &

Wood, 2010; Sexton, 2015). Findings suggest that perceptions of punitive-

ness may be inf‌luenced by variety of demographic, experiential, and attitudi-

nal factors. Studies have found that individuals who are female, younger, and

more highly educated tend to view community-based punishments more

favorably (Irizarry et al., 2016; May & Wood, 2005; May et al., 2005;

Wood & Grasmick, 1999). There is also evidence that individuals who

have greater experience with serving time in prison and jail are more likely

to perceive community-based punishments as being more punitive than incar-

ceration (Crouch, 1993; May et al., 2005; Spelman, 1995).

In addition to these factors,people of color perceive the severity of incarcer-

ation differently than participating in community-based punishments

(Applegate, 2014; Crouch, 1993; Irizarry, May, Davis, & Wood, 2016; May

et al., 2005; Spelman, 1995). Studies have consistently revealed that people of

color view community-based sanctions lessfavorably than their white counter-

parts –af‌inding whichwe devote some attention to in the next pages. However,

the vast majority of this research has focused narrowly on Black versus White

comparisons with little consideration for how other racial/ethnic groups, such

396 The Prison Journal 102(4)