Persuasive Essay On The Death Penalty

According to a release from the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the year of 2012 35% of the prison populations were white and 38% were black. (bjs.gov) In the year of 2012 there was only a 3% difference between white and black prisoners, yet according to the US Census Bureau in the year of 2012 in arrests made, white arrests were at seven million, and black was at 3 million. (census.gov) Even with double the arrests made somehow the actual incarceration rate of inmates is still with blacks leading by 3%. As stated above the arrests of white people were nearly double that of black yet the amount of people in prison remains at a 3% difference. Most of it boils down to money, in another census in 2012 the average income of a black male was nineteen thousand, compared to a white male who earned in average thirty thousand. (census.gov) With a higher income they have a better chance of both being able to afford a better lawyer or even paying such fines to avoid jail. People are not afforded the same chances equally in this system. Those with a higher income can afford a better lawyer and a better lawyer who can argue down the punishment. It is a flawed idea to allow criminals to lighten their punishment with money.

Mass Incarceration is a huge problem in United States culture. No other country in the world incarcerates its population the way that America does. “The U.S. incarcerates more people than any country in the world – both per capita and in terms of total people behind bars. The U.S. has less than 5 percent of the world’s population, yet it has almost 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated population.” Worse yet the majority of the incarcerated individuals belong to a minority group despite not participating in illegal activity any more frequently than their white counterparts. Is the United States criminal justice system racist and if so what is the cause behind this racism. After the end of slavery, many southern black Americans traveled to the north to escape endless violence and discrimination. In the south they could only find low paying field jobs whereas in the northern cities there were steady factory jobs promised as well as the hope that discrimination could be escaped. The northerners while against slavery were not egalitarian and were not in favor of hoards of black Americans surging into their cities and taking jobs away from the white working poor. The need for social control by white Americans only grew with the population of black Americans living in the cities and working in the factories. The rhetoric of “law and order” first came about in the late 1950s as white opposition to the Civil Rights Movement was encouraged by southern governors and law enforcement.

 Racism is a big flaw in our criminal judicial system, just the fact that at least one out three African American males is expected to go to prison shows that racism plays a big part in mass incarceration. African Americans make up a majority of the prison’s population than any other race. Poor and segregated locations are more closely spectated and followed by police officers than wealthy locations because, they expect poor segregated area to be more dangerous because of the people who live there and how the environment around them looks like. Police officers should not discriminate people because, of their status and/or skin color. For example, in the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird” Atticus Finch proves the innocence of Tom Robinson a

We have a Criminal Justice System that will treat you better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent. The United States has 25% of the worlds prisoners, weaponizing its black decent. In 1972, the prison population was around 300,000. Today, the prison population accounts for 2.3 million people. Mass incarceration mostly affects people of color, young to middle aged black men in particular. It began after the Civil War when they were arrested for extremely minor crimes. Slavery was an economic system that was essential, so when it was abolished, improvises were made. Mass incarceration is the product of a century's long historical process.

In 2009, a survey showed that blacks were arrested for drug possession more than three times as often as whites, and a survey made in 2011 showed that whites have abused drugs more than blacks (The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive). Yet, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one out of every 3 black males can expect to go to prison in their lifetime, and 225,000 of the people who were serving time in state prisons for drug offenses in 2011, blacks made up 45 percent while whites comprised of just 30 percent. One must question, why is there a disproportionate number of African Americans in the criminal justice system? Well, the majority of Americans are unaware of this mass incarceration and outright racism in the criminal justice system. When we think of racism, we think of the 1930’s-60’s, slavery, and Jim Crow which come to mind, but what

In today’s society, discrimination continues to affect millions of minorities from inappropriate name calling to being shot by a law enforcement officer because you were perceived to be dangerous. The underlying effects of racial discrimination are seen in all aspects of our society, especially in our social institutions. These social institutions range from the educational system to our government, yet racial discrimination is more evident in the criminal justice system. When analyzing how the criminal justice system discriminates against minorities we are able to do so through the visible disparities within the system. Unfortunately, these disparities display African Americans having the highest population rates in the criminal justice system, therefore, we can immediately conclude this disparity in population is due to the injustices conducted by the system. Thus, there is a need for urgent change not just within the criminal justice system but within all social institutions beginning with our government. This change should create greater opportunities for minorities to enter the political field in our government as well as promoting higher participating in voting. Yet, the criminal justice system within all its aspects practices discrimination due to its deeply interwoven prejudice, institutional racism, and socioeconomic status.

American has a legacy of the mistreatment and disenfranchisement of African Americans. The same bad treatment that many think only took place in the past is in fact still intact, it’s just presented in a new way. The mass incarceration of blacks in the Unites States can be attributed to the “racial hierarchy” that has always existed. The U.S contributes to about 5% of the worlds overall population, and about 25% of the worlds prison population (Holland 1), “if those rates reflected jail, probation and parole populations, the numbers would rise exponentially”(Griffith 9). Statics show that there is a chance that about 1 in 3 black males are expected end up in prison (Jacobson). Although, in terms of the entire United States population African Americans only make up about 13% (Prison Activist Resource Center. Racism Fact Sheets: “ Latinos and the Criminal Injustice System.” 2003). There is a huge number of African Americans involved in the criminal justice system in some way. The average person does not know about mass incarceration nor about the racism that is in just about every part of the criminal justice system. When most people think about racism their thoughts often drift to slavery or Jim Crow laws, but for most, they do not consider how the amount of African Americans in prison today could be due to bias or racism. A significant cause of mass incarceration is the same racism that produced the Jim Crow era.

Undoubtedly, race defines nearly aspect of the criminal justice system, from police profiling/targeting, to crimes charged and sentencing, to rates of conviction and incarceration. Blacks and Latinos make up sixty-three percent of the prison population while only making up a quarter of the total population (Hunter & Wagner, 2011). According to Michelle Alexander (in The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, “More black people are in prison or jail, on probation or on parole than were enslaved in 1850”, despite the fact that whites and blacks engage in criminal activities, especially drug offenses, at roughly comparable rates (2010). Historically, there has been a tendency to strip black and brown bodies of their humanity,

The justice system has shown to have bias towards African-American males through the sentencing process and the incarceration process. Compared to fellow racial counterparts there is a visible and clear line that shown in the disparities that occur. Not only is bias being played throughout, but the proper programs are not being put into place to help families and especially the youth of the African-American community. Instead a form of neglect is going on that is creating a constant cycle that is the root of the systematic incarceration of African-American males. Another problem I believe is within predominately African-American communities, we do not help ourselves by promoting violence especially after tragic events such as the killing of unarmed African-American male Michael Brown that was due to the hand of police fire. In the situation riots took place and everything broke loose in Ferguson, Missouri but around the nation in other places peaceful protest took place displaying the true meaning of the #blacklivesmatter movement which is just to speak up against the harsh reality we has a race not the violence that is displayed on TV and news stations that gives off the condescending message as a hate group. Overall we should contribute towards our betterment as a race also, and maybe that can help shift the racial disparities that occur in the unfair

For example, “between 1980 and 2000, the rate of black incarceration nearly tripled. The black-to-white incarceration ratio increased to about eight to one during this period. The reach of mass incarceration has risen to such high levels that some analysts view it as altering normative life-course experiences for blacks in low-income neighborhoods” (Finsterbusch, 2013, p.136). Furthermore, the incarceration rates are higher for drug sentencing, the racial disparities include African Americans and Hispanics and this also includes juvenile arrests which are higher for these groups compared to whites. When looking at these numbers we need to resolve the issues that remain with racial divisions and the criminal justice system. We can take steps by making changes in the justice system at all levels such as establish a National Criminal Justice Commission, eliminate mandatory minimum sentences and develop and implement training to reduce racial bias which are a few examples provided by the Sentencing Project,

In the U.S. many people may argue that racial disparity is non-existent in today’s time. Those people usually are ignorant to the fact that even though america has come a long way they still have so far to go. From the slavery days, to segregation, to now, a time where a white and black person can sit down together in the same setting and be civilized is great, but if the two get into an illegal situation and both have to be put on trial, who will be the one that is cruelly convicted? Who sentencing will have more time? The Black man, in all cases this may not be true, but in most cases it is. So therefore, even though america came a long way there still needs to be an improvement in their legal system because African-Americans

There is a very evident problem with racism in the United States Criminal Justice System. Society chooses to ignore this problem because many do not think they are a part of it. What they do not understand is they are a part of society, therefore a part of the problem. Even if a particular person is not doing anything to cause this problem directly, they are not helping the situation either. Society has to become aware of this issue and stop pretending as though it is something that will go away on its own. Others need to become aware of this issue so they can not only make others aware, but so they can find out the exact source of the problem and how to fix it before it is too late. The United States is supposed to be a free country where people feel safe, yet there are issues still happening today that people like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and others fought and risked their lives to change. Society likes to look back on history and say that things are different and the country has come so far and that everyone is equal. However, today’s news and statistics show that is not the case at all. If we do not take action now, we will be right back where we started. Many races are not treated fairly by citizens of this county and even the United States Criminal Justice System, especially African Americans. Nationwide, African Americans are stopped, searched, arrested, and incarcerated at rates much higher than people of other races.

To say that our justice system in America is perfect, is far from the truth. Dating back to slavery and Jim Crow, race has been an extremely heated issue. The only way to inform people about the racial problems is to actually discuss it. Arguments can be made that our criminal justice system is fair and just. However, you cannot take away from the fact that black Americans are receiving injustice from the corrupt legal system we have today. Statistics show that black Americans are more likely to have their cars searched, more likely to be arrested for drug use, and more likely to receive longer sentences for the same crime that a white American committed.

The exploitation of prisoners by the U.S. is not color blind. There is a disproportionately large amount of people of color incarcerated in this country. There are more Native Americans per capita in prison than any other group (Davis). Latino people are more than twice as likely to be incarcerated than non-Hispanic whites (PrisonPolicy.org). Black men make up 60% of the prison population (McCalla). Michelle Alexander states in The New Jim Crow that there are more Black men "in prison or jail, on probation or on parole than were enslaved in 1850." This is not because of the erroneous idea of Black men naturally being delinquent. It is because the prison industrial complex was deliberately manufactured to directly replace the profit the country made through the enslavement of African-Americans.

In order to understand the state of our criminal justice system, I believe we must understand the criminal justice in the past and how similar it is when compared. For example, slavery which was once considered illegal after the civil war, was used as punishment in the criminal justice system (13th). This undoubtedly served the powerful people in power, which was still whites and they used it to their advantage. “Blacks were convicted for minor offenses and forced back into slavery to repair the south after the Civil War” (13th). Furthermore, the same reasoning can be applied to today’s Criminal Justice system, most people of color are incarcerated for petty offenses and becoming felons. Although, this may not seem as harmful as the effects of slavery, however, one can argue it is an advanced version of slavery. “Those who are felons have no voting rights, limited employment, provide free