Jef Mantuano

Mantuano 1

English 101
Professor Ogbara
12 December 2015
Annotated Bibliography
Banks, Gabrielle. "Women Are More Often Spared the Death Penalty." The Ethics of
Capital Punishment. Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011.
In this article, Banks covers that women do not commit violent crimes as much as men,
but once found guilty, they are hardly ever given death sentences. Due to women seeming
defenseless, small, and able to cry on cue, they often receive clemency. Another factor that plays
is that women are believed to be mentally ill or under lots of stress when committing a violent
crime. Womens appearances also contribute to their outcome.
Banks article is very useful and reliable because she gives real life examples of how
women constantly defeat the justice system. Her goal is prove that there is inequality in gender
sentencing. To support her argument she compares a womans domestic homicide with a mans
murder during rape or robbery because society defines both crimes differently.
Many of Banks examples easily support the unequal sentencing between men and
women. Her article has given me a stronger viewpoint on why we should correct this mistake.
Harmon, Mark G. & OBrien, Robert M. Gendered Sentencing: Explaining
the Narrowing of the Gender Gap in Imprisonment Over Time: 1970 2008.
Sociological Perspectives 54 4.0 (2011). 641 664. Print.
In this article, Harmon and OBrien explains that from 1970 to 2007, men imprisonment
rose 5 times and women imprisonment rose 13 times. With this information, they question why
90 percent of the prison population is all men. More women were sentence to jail because of the
change in their treatment and behavior. This results into women committing less serious crimes,
like drunk driving, drug crimes, assault, robberies, and repeated offender (previous crime did not

Mantuano 2
matter). As they were arrested, they were given lighter sentences because they are seen as
mothers and caregivers. They werent seen as guilty as men were.
This is somewhat a counter argument to my argument. This article states that the gender
gap is narrowing in imprisonment, but there is still unequal treatment when it comes to
sentencing because women and men are seen differently. If women are seen as mothers, then
men should be seen as fathers.
This articles provides an element that none of my other articles have. This article shows
the narrowing of the gender gap in imprisonment, though more men are in prison because of the
chivalrous treatment that women receive. These information help support the treatment unequal
between men and women when it comes to sentencing.
Wallen, Hannah. Gender Disparity in Criminal Court. Misandric Culture
29 July 2013 <http://www.avoiceformen.com>
In this article, Wallen presents the unfair prosecuting between men and women. Most
jurors give sympathy to female criminals because of their vulnerability, while male criminals
receive no sympathy at all. Wallen presents more unfair judgments with stating that women
committing crimes are usually accessories to male criminals. Adding, that women crimes is a
result of abusive men.
Wallens ideas support Banks article by again proving that female criminals receive
favors that actually harm male criminals. While women are viewed as mothers and caregivers,
men are disregarded for that matter. This results to longer prison time or death sentences.
This article has provided support towards unequal sentencing between female and male
criminals. It illustrates how men commit crimes for no reason, as women only do because men
have abused them.

Mantuano 3