When an offender is sentenced, many factors are taken into consideration. Sentencing disparity occurs when like offenders who have committed similar crimes are sentenced differently. The major factors that can result in sentencing disparity are social class, gender, age, and race. Those from a lower social class are more likely to receive longer sentences. This is often a result of the quality of legal representation.
Females are more likely to receive shorter sentences than males.
The elderly receive more lenient sentences, and the courts impose the harshest terms on those 21 to 29 years old. Finally race has an impact on sentencing. While research fails to show a definitive pattern of racially discriminatory sentencing, African Americans make up a disproportionate number of inmates. Since 1608 more than 14,500 people have been executed in the United States. Most executions are for murder or rape.