Profile picture for user drante.katherine

Katherine Durante

Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Utah
Chapter Member: Utah SSN

About Katherine

Durante's scholarship primarily focuses on racial and ethnic disparities in sentencing and the impacts of incarceration on the family. She takes a critical lens, centering racial injustice in her research. She has published in numerous outlets ranging from traditional peer-reviewed journals to local public news agencies. Durante values the opportunity to work with local organizations and share her expertise with the community in the hopes of working toward a more just society. She currently serves on the Citizens Review Board for LVMPD.

In the News

"Death Penalty Is Costly, Ineffective," Katherine Durante, Las Vegas Sun, March 26, 2021.
"Locking People in Cages and Family Separation Is Nothing New in Nevada Copy," Katherine Durante, Opinion, The Nevada Independent, July 24, 2018.

Publications

"Coparenting, Negative Educational Outcomes, and Familial Instability in Justice-involved Families" (with Eman Tadros). International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology (2021).

Examines if a more cohesive coparenting relationship is associated with fewer adverse childhood experience for children with incarcerated fathers. Finds that children of parents who frequently argue about the child are more likely to have ever been suspended or expelled from school and are more likely to have ever had to live outside of the home.

"County-Level Context and Sentence Lengths for Black, Latinx, and White Individuals Sentenced to Prison: A Multi-Level Assessment" Criminal Justice Policy Review (2021).

Discusses how Black and Latinx individuals receive longer sentences than their White counterparts, even after controlling for relevant variables. Elaborates on how Black individuals are sentenced longer than their White counterparts in counties with larger shares of Republican voters. Indicates that race and ethnicity continue to be salient predictors of punishment.

" Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Prison Admissions Across Counties: An Evaluation of Racial/Ethnic Threat, Socioeconomic Inequality, and Political Climate Explanations" Race and Justice 10, no. 2 (2017): 176-202.

Finds that Black–White prison admission disparities are lower in jurisdictions with greater shares of Black citizens; however, the reverse is true for Latino–White inequality. Mentions political conservatism being associated with less inequality. Shows counties with more income and employment parity have smaller disparities in sentencing.