"Estimating Ethnic Disparities in Sentencing": A Faculty Inaugural Lecture by Prof. Jose Pina-Sánchez

Join us for the fifth lecture in the Faculty of Social Sciences Inaugural Lecture Series!

We are delighted to announce that the fifth lecture in the 2024-25 Faculty Inaugural Lecture Series will be given by Professor Jose Pina-Sánchez from the School of Law.

Professor Pina-Sánchez’s research primarily centres on criminal justice decision making, with a particular emphasis on criminal sentencing. His research and teaching focuses on the application of advances statistical methods and innovative data sources to contribute to a fairer, more transparent, and effective criminal justice system. In his latest project, he led a multidisciplinary team investigating whether ethnic disparities in prison sentences could be indicative of sentencing discrimination.

The Lecture

Estimating Ethnic Disparities in Sentencing: Methodological Challenges and a Path Forward

Abstract

Are ethnic minority offenders sentenced more harshly than their white counterparts? Answering this question is far more complex than commonly acknowledged. In this talk, I will uncover multiple sources of bias that I have found to be distorting estimates of unwarranted disparities in sentencing, including – but not limited to – misclassification, selection, confounding, post-treatment, or framing biases. These issues cast doubt on the validity of existing evidence on sentencing disparities. More broadly, they represent a significant epistemological challenge, underscoring the limitations of positivist approaches to complex social science questions. However, this is not a call for scientific nihilism. By openly acknowledging uncertainty and adopting transparent research practices, we can navigate these methodological challenges and, in some cases, arrive at definitive answers. Achieving this requires a shift in research culture to prioritise methodological rigor, embrace open science, and critically reflect on our analytical frameworks.

We would like to welcome everyone – be they colleagues, postgraduate researchers, students, alumni or visitors – to this lecture celebrating the achievement and research contributions of Professor Pina-Sánchez.

The lecture will take place on Thursday 30 January 2025 at 17:00 in Liberty Building (Moot Court) LT (1.28) on the Western University of Leeds campus. The lecture will take place from 17:00-18:00 including introductions and a Q&A session, after which there will be a drinks reception.

To register your attendance at this lecture, please complete this short registration form.

If you have any queries about this lecture, or about the series, please direct them via email to Izzy Jenkinson (Faculty Events Coordinator) at I.K.S.Jenkinson@leeds.ac.uk.