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Race Neutral Policy Summary

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Incarceration rates in the United States are extremely higher than other countries. According to Schlesinger in her article “The Failure of Race Neutral Policies: How Mandatory Terms and Sentencing Enhancements Contribute to Mass Racialized Incarceration” there are, “Currently, one and a half million people are incarcerated in either state or federal prisons” (Schlesinger). This number is very high compared to other countries. A large majority of the people incarcerated are African Americans. Schlesinger makes this clear with the fact that, “Blacks are six times more likely than whites to imprisoned during their lives” (Schlesinger). This number seems very unjust. Why does the criminal justice so disproportionately incarcerate blacks? …show more content…

This is the best theory to explain the high incarceration rates of African Americans crime trend. The group threat theory is explained very well by King and Wheelock in their article, “Group Threat and Social Control: Race, Perceptions of Minorities and Desire to Punish.” King and Wheelock find that, “results indicate that changes in African American population size influence punitive attitudes for whites” (King & Wheelock). This means that the greater the population of African Americans the greater the amount of threat the white population feels. This is a very unnerving finding because generally white Americans are the ones making the decisions in the criminal justice system. It would make sense then that the criminal justice system is unfair to African Americans if the people creating it are biased against …show more content…

The behavior of law is the how the law is applied and the amount of law applied. The amount of law includes if there is an arrest, prison sentencing, and how long the sentence is (Fraga). Typically those with low socioeconomic status receive a greater amount of law than those with higher socioeconomic status. The people African Americans living in disorganized neighborhoods are unable to properly defend themselves in the court of law because they cannot afford the proper means to do so. This makes it very difficult for a person who is convicted of or even accused of a crime to recover financially. Many African Americans are unable to afford bail or a good lawyer. Being convicted of a crime makes it very difficult to provide for one’s family and himself or

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