Quinesha Bentley

Quinesha Bentley is a Ph.D. student in the Sociology Department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research lies at the intersections of race, economics, and law. She is particularly interested in the processes of commensuration, quantification, and valuation in the awarding of monetary damages in tort litigation, particularly in cases involving mass shootings at educational and religious institutions. As part of her dissertation, Bentley examines the perceptions of expert witnesses and other legal actors to understand how they perceive the valuation of human life in the law. Her work explores how economic metrics of valuation outcomes intersect with racialized systems and systemic biases, contributing to broader discussions on legal reform, social justice, and inequality.