Type of Document	Dissertation
Author	Bontrager, Stephanie R.
Author's Email Address	srb1071@garnet.acns.fsu.edu
URN	etd-04072006-122707
Title	Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Situational and Social Threat and the Labeling of Convicted Felons: A Study of Social Control
Degree	Doctor of Philosophy
Department	Criminology and Criminal Justice, School of
Advisory Committee	Advisor Name Title Ted Chiricos Committee Chair Bill Bales Committee Member Richard Tate Committee Member
Keywords	Threat Gender Ethnicity Race Social Control
Date of Defense	2006-03-17
Availability	unrestricted
Abstract Florida judges have the discretion to withhold adjudication for felony offenders sentenced to probation. This sentencing option allows offenders to retain all rights normally lost upon felony conviction within the state of Florida, including the right to vote and carry fire arms. Those who receive adjudication withheld can also legally assert that they are not convicted felons. In short, they suffer none of the associated “civil” or social penalties that generally accompany criminal conviction. This research investigates the direct impact of individual characteristics such as race, ethnicity and gender on the withholding of adjudication for a sample of probationers (N=120,771) convicted in Florida courts between 1999 and 2002. The study also examines the situational influence of crime type and the cross level impact of socially threatening conditions such as black and Hispanic unemployment, racial composition and concentrated disadvantage on the effect of individual traits using Hierarchical Generalized Linear Modeling. The results indicate that blacks and Hispanics have substantially lower chances than white offenders, with similar personal and legal attributes, to receive adjudication withheld. The influence of race and ethnicity on adjudication withheld is more prominent for drug offenders and for blacks in areas of high black unemployment and for both blacks and Hispanics in places with elevated levels of disadvantage. Gender also significantly impacts adjudication withheld with female offenders significantly more likely to receive this beneficial sentencing decision when compared to male offenders. Additionally, women convicted of atypical crimes such as murder and auto theft do not enjoy the sentencing advantage that other female offenders have over males. Overall, the chance of adjudication withheld for female offenders is substantially increased in areas with stronger female earnings. The race, ethnicity and gender findings are discussed within the social threat and social control theoretical framework.
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