Areas of Expertise

• Gun violence
• Violent crime
• Homicide prevention
• Supermax prisons

Key Findings

• Most inmates released from a supermax facility had recidivism rates similar to ex-inmates who were not in a supermax facility. MORE
• Compared to ex-inmates of supermax prisons who did not reoffend, those who reoffended were younger, and were more likely to be serving time for a drug offence and to have a history of prior incarcerations and disciplinary infractions while incarcerated. MORE
• Offenders released from supermax units reoffended in a shorter amount of time if they were gang members, served shorter sentences, and had a history or drug or alcohol abuse. MORE
• In areas where residents are racially/ethnically homogenous, non-racial factors are the predominant force behind many court outcomes and sentencing decisions. MORE
• Variables such as perception of offender dangerousness and culpability are more significant predictors of case outcome. MORE

Biography

Jesenia Pizarro, Associate Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice at Arizona State University, is an expert in gun violence, violent crime, violence and homicide prevention, and supermax prisons.

Pizarro has worked with police agencies to control the violence in communities, conduct research, and evaluate programs in federally funded grants awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, National Institute of Health, and the Center for Disease Control in the roles of PI, Co-PI, and consultant. She was awarded the Athena Young Professional Leadership Award in 2015 by Links Incorporated.

She has been published in numerous journals, including American Journal of Public Health, Justice Quarterly, Homicide Studies and Applied Geography.

Pizarro received her Ph.D., M.A., and B.S. in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University.