Manslaughter Sentencing Disparities Between Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Offenders in Canada

Abstract

The following study examines sentencing disparities among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal manslaughter offenders in Canada. The data utilized was extracted through the online database (CANLII) and included 189 Canadian sentencing decisions for male manslaughter offences from 1993 to 2013. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal offenders were compared on offender variables, offence features, and sentencing variables. The main objective of the study was to compare the length of sentencing for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal offenders and to examine other factors that may have differed between the two groups. The results indicated that, although sentence length did not differ, there were many observed differences that demonstrated social inequalities between the two groups.

Department: Psychology

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Sandy Jung