From the Sentencing Project (http://www.sentencingproject.org):
Federal courts imposed prison sentences on black men that were 19% longer than those imposed on similarly situated white men between 2011 and 2016, reports the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC). In addition, federal prison sentences for Hispanic men were 5% longer than those for their white counterparts. “In Demographic Differences in Sentencing: An Update to the 2012 Booker Report,” USSC researchers examine sentencing disparities by controlling for legally relevant factors such as the type of offense and criminal history—including a violent criminal history.
A major driver of the disparity, the report contends, is the frequency and extent to which federal judges depart below sentencing guidelines to determine sentences for white defendants. But other researchers have shown that “judges’ choices do not appear to be principally responsible” for the racial disparity in federal sentences, finding instead that the source of the problem is prosecutorial charging decisions—specifically, the decision to bring a charge carrying a mandatory minimum sentence.
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