The current average sentence for rape in the United States is 1-25 years. The recidivism rate for sexual-related offenders increases the longer they’ve been out of jail, studies show. Further, sex offender registries fail to act as a deterrent. Thus, the only tangible form of change available is to lengthen the current sentence for a rape related offense. 

The Penn State Journal of Law and International Affairs in June of 2018 published “The "Leniency Epidemic": A Study of Leniency Granted to Convicted Rapists in America and Australia”. Furthermore, the study not only outlines but also provides sufficient evidence that corroborates judicial responses are exceedingly disproportionate when it comes to race. The author of the study, Tierney, specifically states “while these qualities may be included as mitigating factors during sentencing, they do not have any determinative power within the statutes themselves, leaving their use to the discretion of judges”. This observation clearly indicates the possibility for lapse in ethical judgment stems from lack of thorough law review that ensures punishment for the crime of rape is not dependent on race, rather the crime itself.