Description: While research on the influence of race and ethnicity in sentencing has a long history, the role of advanced age in sentencing practices remains largely overlooked. This study investigates, for the first time in Belgium, how key judicial actors engage with, and decide on cases involving older defendants. Using legal analysis, case file review, observations, and interviews, it examines how actors across three ethnographic case studies perceive, contextualize, and practice sentencing of older individuals. By adopting a multi-agency and interdisciplinary approach, this study deepens our understanding of how age operates as a dynamic factor in sentencing, recognizing that its impact may vary across different judicial settings. Three sentencing contexts are examined in depth: (1) a correctional court, (2) a traffic/police court, and (3) a sentence implementation court. By employing a qualitative methodology, this research captures the complex, interpretative, and nuanced nature of sentencing, addressing a critical gap in current scholarship. Given the growing awareness of society's ageing population and the increasing recognition of the need to understand how extra-judicial factors influence criminal justice decision-making and its underlying mechanisms, this research is both timely and relevant.
Promotors: Diete Humblet and Lars Breuls
Researcher: Ellen van de Riet
Funding: Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek
Duration: 2026 - 2029