Abstract
Prison sentences set by a paroling authority vary, as expected, with characteristics of the offenders. Is part of the variation in sentences, however, associated not with the offenders but with the persons responsible for the decisions?
Comparisons of sentences set by various parole board members may be misleading if differences in the types of offenders con cerned are not taken into account. If an experimental study of the question with adequate controls for "types of offenders" is not feasible, statistical controls might be substituted.
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate a method for com paring decisions by parole board members. Study of the sentences of 2,053 men paroled in one year, analyzed according to six parole board members who participated in the hearing, demon strated the need for the study suggested. The groups of offenders were not directly comparable. When relevant characteristics of the offenders were taken into account, it was found that the decision-makers tended to make similar decisions.
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