Upstream and Downstream Racial Disparities in Prison Rule Violation Processes

Objectives To advance research on racial disparities in processing prison rule violators, we examined disparities at citation, “conviction,” and sanctioning to assess cascading race effects on sanctions via harsher upstream decisions. Methods Black and White persons admitted to Ohio prisons in a 5-year period and cited for rule violations were examined ( N = 39,356). Outcomes included total cited charges, total convicted charges, and sanctions. Path analysis was used to estimate direct and indirect race effects on dispositions, controlling for covariates of convicted charges and sanction severity. Results Black individuals were cited for more rule violations but convicted on fewer violations (controlling counts cited) than White individuals, had lower odds of placement in disciplinary segregation, and served less time in segregation. Indirect race effects on convicted counts and sanctions were statistically significant. Conclusions Rule infraction boards may serve as a downstream correction to upstream racial disparities in the prison infraction process. Despite a significant cascading race effect on convicted charges via cited charges, cascading race effects on prison sanctions via convicted charges were refuted, where correctional officers’ decisions did not culminate in harsher sanctions for Black individuals at rule infraction hearings. These hearings may constitute an important check on upstream decisions.