Pretrial detention and conviction

Ana Diaz Escobar and Luz Magdalena Salas ()
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Luz Magdalena Salas: Pontificia Universidad Javeriana

European Journal of Law and Economics, 2022, vol. 53, issue 1, No 1, 25 pages

Abstract: Abstract Preventive detention legislation allows for the ongoing detention of an offender’s sentence. We explore the effects of pretrial detention on case outcomes in Bogotá, Colombia, from 2005–2017. Using pretrial judge leniency as an instrument, we find that pretrial detention leads to a 48 percentage point increase in the likelihood of being convicted. The rise in the probability of reaching agreements among defendants who would have otherwise been acquitted or had their charges dropped explains our findings. We also find evidence of an increase in the likelihood of pleading guilty for those detained pretrial and who experience a more significant incarceration sentence. Colombian prisons are overcrowded. Pretrial detentions add to the cost of maintenance of the prisoners. Policymakers should consider whether the costs associated with pretrial detention outweigh the potential benefits.

Keywords: Preventive detention; Punishment sufficiency; Sentencing; Risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J21 J22 J23 J24 J33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:ejlwec:v:53:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s10657-021-09723-4

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DOI: 10.1007/s10657-021-09723-4

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