Criminal Justice System And Racial Incarceration In The United States
In the recent years, the population of Americans incarcerated has increased at extraordinary rates. In fact, the U.S has the highest incarceration rate in the world (Bureau of Justice Statistics). The majority of those incarcerated are for non-violent crimes, like for the use of drugs, possession of drugs, distribution of drugs, property crimes, and petty theft. Interestingly, the numbers of those incarcerated are higher in one ethnic group than another. Research shows that African Americans and Hispanics are often charged longer sentences and are convicted of crimes that only require mandatory minimum sentencing far more than Whites. While some believe that the system is racist and unfair, others argue that the high rates of incarceration of these ethnic groups reflect their crime rates and not …show more content…
Through my research I continuously asked myself; why are there more people of color incarcerated than whites? Is it because they commit more crimes? Or are parts of the criminal justice system flawed and discriminatory? Nonetheless, if the there is some kind of discrimination, does this explain poverty in African American and Hispanic communities? I found that, today, people of color are more likely to be incarcerated and sentenced disproportionally than their white counterparts. Racial inequalities in the criminal justice system are evident now more than ever. Although some believe that we are now past racial disparities, people of color are still facing injustice in the criminal justice system as appose to whites. Furthermore, my research has found that mass incarceration of one race, leads to mass poverty in
Comparing Bruce Western's Punishment And Inequality In America
98 Words | 1 PagesOver the last thirty years, the prison population in the United States has increased more than seven-fold to over two million people, including vastly disproportionate numbers of minorities and people with little education. For some racial and educational groups, incarceration has become a depressingly regular experience, and prison culture and influence pervade their communities. Almost 60 percent of black male high school drop-outs in their early thirties have spent time in prison. In Punishment and Inequality in America, sociologist Bruce Western explores the recent era of mass incarceration and the serious social and economic consequences it has wrought.
Profiling By Steven Rodriguez: Article Analysis
890 Words | 4 PagesThese racial biases are detrimental to society because it leads to many innocent individuals becoming incarcerated. Though officers appropriately released Rodriguez, many others are not as lucky, thus creating a large population of colored individuals in prison. The disproportional ratio of whites to colored inmates perhaps only feeds racial biases because individuals of color are the ones who understood to be criminals. Another important aspect worth investigation is whether or not racial profiling by police officers is a result of the corrupt views of racist officers. A video shown during lecture displayed interviews with officers whom admitted to seeing racism in some of their fellow officers, and often turning a blind eye towards it.
African American Men's Role In The Criminal Justice System
293 Words | 2 PagesThroughout history, the rate of incarceration among African American men has been significantly higher than that of other races. Since the 1970’s, it seems that serving time in jail is the rite of passage for an African American male. One of the contributing factors lies in the disparities of sentencing in the Criminal Justice System, especially during the drug war.
Criminal Equity Framework
1668 Words | 7 PagesThe criminal equity framework in the United States has endured a stupendous advancement. There are more than a huge number of African American men in jail that are imprisoned and a large portion of them may never get out. It is conceivable that more African American guys will go to jail in their life expectancy than some other race. This have made dark groups and the up and coming eras dependably turn into the objective. The greater part of these families as of now experience serious difficulties for their family because of single child rearing, the unemployment rate for dark male go up, they can 't vote while being imprisoned, and more individuals feel like jail is another home outside of their home.
The New Jim Crow Essay On Legalized Discrimination
1204 Words | 5 PagesLegalized Discrimination is Contributing to Mass Incarceration Mass incarceration has been an issue for decades, with no clear solution in sight. One major turning point in the development of mass incarceration, based on reading The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, is the idea of legalized discrimination. Alexander said, “What is painfully obvious when one steps back from individual cases and specific policies is that the system of mass incarceration operated with stunning efficiency to sweep people of color off the streets, lock them in cages, and then release them into an inferior second-class status” (pg. 100). This idea of legalized discrimination allows police officers to intentionally target black individuals because of prejudices
Essay On Racial Disparities In The Criminal Justice System
2059 Words | 9 PagesRacial Disparities in the American Criminal Justice System Introduction The United States criminal justice system is the largest in the world. In 2015, there were more than 6.7 million people under some form of correctional control within the United States, including 2.2 million incarcerated in federal, state, or local prisons and jails. By being the world leader in incarceration rates, the United States eclipses the rate of any other nation. These statistics from “The Sentencing Project” emphasize the significance of mass incarceration in America and the racial inequality that takes form in its criminal justice system.
Disparities In Prisons
1642 Words | 7 PagesUnfortunately, there are racial disparities in the United States in the legal system. Prison sentences imposed on African American males in the federal system are nearly 20 percent longer than white males convicted of similar crimes. The 1994 Crime Bill signed by President Clinton established mandatory minimum sentences. African American and Latino offenders sentenced in state and federal courts face greater odds of incarceration than white offenders who are in similar situations and receive longer sentences than whites in some jurisdictions. Research has shown that race plays a significant role in determination on which homicide cases resulted in death sentences.
Tough On Crime Policy Analysis
784 Words | 4 PagesA study conducted by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services undertaking claims of sentencing disparities studies the felony sentencing outcomes particularly in New York courts between the years 1990 and 1992. Astonishingly, the study concluded that approximately one-third of minorities sentenced to prison would have received a shorter sentence with the possibility of a non-incarcerative penalty if they had been treated similarly to their white counterparts. Consequently, other sentencing data is consistent with the results of this study’s findings. On a national scale, black males specifically, who were convicted of drug felonies in state courts 52 percent of the time, while white males typically receive prison sentencing approximately 34 percent of the time. In addition, these figures are not constrained to gender given the similar ratio among black and white women as well.
Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow Summary
1075 Words | 5 PagesThe racial disparity can be accounted for through the mass incarceration of black offenders in terms of sentencing with mention of a racial caste in place, not allowing those of color to move from their position. As such, mass incarceration has led to prisons being filled with an overpopulation of those who are black than any other race. Interesting enough, it has been proven through surveys that those who are white are more likely to engage in drug crime rather than those who are black. I found this to be an interesting point to discuss as it raises the question as to just why are more people of color incarcerated at a growing rate than
Race In The Prison System Essay
965 Words | 4 PagesPeople of all different races and ethnicities are locked behind bars because they have been convicted of committing a crime and they are paying for the consequences. When looking at the racial composition of a prison in the United States, it does not mimic the population. This is because some races and ethnicities are over represented in the correctional system in the U.S. (Walker, Spohn, & DeLone, 2018). According Walker et al. (2018), African-Americans/Blacks make up less than fifteen percent of the U.S. population, while this race has around thirty-seven percent of the population in the correctional system today.
Argumentative Essay: The American Dream
908 Words | 4 PagesThe Huffington Post says, “The U.S. incarcerates nearly seven times as many people, measured as a share of population, as Canada does. People of color are disproportionately represented in the American prison population and are typically punished more severely than white peers for the same crimes” (Daniel Marans). Racism against people of color has caused them to be represented poorly in society as potential criminals, especially black. MIT informs its viewers that “according to the United States census Bureau, blacks are twice as likely to be poor compared to other races, and eight times as likely to be imprisoned. Blacks are also three times more likely to be convicted of drug violations than whites.
Annotated Bibliography: The New Jim Crow
1343 Words | 6 PagesCoker gives great evidence that supports racial injustice in the criminal justice system. She discusses on the Supreme Court’s rulings and accusations of racial preference in the system. This article is helpful because it supports my thesis on race playing a role on the system of criminal justice. Hurwitz, J., & Peffley, M. (1997). Public perceptions of race and crime: The role of racial stereotypes.
Mass Incarceration Literature Review
1728 Words | 7 PagesThe United States has a larger percent of its population incarcerated than any other country. America is responsible for a quarter of the world’s inmates, and its incarceration rate is growing exponentially. The expense generated by these overcrowded prisons cost the country a substantial amount of money every year. While people are incarcerated for several reasons, the country’s prisons are focused on punishment rather than reform, and the result is a misguided system that fails to rehabilitate criminals or discourage crime. This literature review will discuss the ineffectiveness of the United States’ criminal justice system and how mass incarceration of non-violent offenders, racial profiling, and a high rate of recidivism has become a problem.
Essay On Racism In The Criminal Justice System
1109 Words | 5 PagesFor years now there has been a lot of controversy involving the looming question: Is the criminal justice system racist? Racism is prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one 's own race is superior. Ever since the Trayvon Martin case of 2012, the justice system has been in a complete downfall including all of the police brutality cases since then also. According to sources, 1 of every 4 African American males born this decade are expected to go to prison in their lifetime. Census Bureau reports that the U.S. is 13 percent percent black, 61 percent white, and 17 percent latino.
Argumentative Essay On Incarceration In America
874 Words | 4 PagesAccording to the U.S. Census, over 75% of the citizens of the United States are White, making up the vast majority; however, African Americans are five times more likely to be incarcerated than Whites, and Hispanics are about twice as likely (Sakala,
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