Race Still Effects Convictions Case Study

The diversity issue focused on in this paper will be racial disparity in sentencing. This paper will also focus on some of the reasons why racial disparity exists within sentencing. One of the research methods used in this paper will be case studies. In society today there are a diversity of citizens, of offenders, and leaders within in the court system. However, race still plays a big role in the Criminal Justice system especially during the sentencing portion. Although racial dynamics may have changed over time, race still exerts an undeniable presence in sentencing process. This ranges from disparate traffic stops due to racial profiling to imposition of the death penalty based on the race of

Racial disparity in sentencing in the criminal justice system is a problematic issue. Individuals often believe that racial disparity in sentencing does not exist; however, substantial proof in the criminal justice system proves otherwise. According to statistics of Marc Mauer, “unprecedented rise in the populations of prisons over the past three decades is a six fold increase, resulting in the incarceration of nearly two million Americans.” The breakdown of statistics is as follows: “One in every eight African-American male groups between 25-34 year old is a result of incarceration and 32% of African-American males born to society can expect to spend a term in a federal or state prison if the current

Racial inequality is growing. Our criminal laws, while facially neutral, are enforced in a manner that is massively and pervasively biased. My research will examine the U.S. criminal justice policies and how it has the most adverse effect on minorities. According to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, out of a total population of 1,976,019 incarcerated in adult facilities, 1,239,946 or 63 percent are

Despite the magnitude of a presidential election, this is the story that has caught my attention like never before. Brock Turner belongs in prison for his crime, and that is all I have to say about him. However, the conversation does not end there, the events that followed the attack do not allow it to.

In this paper I will illustrate racial disparity in sentencing in the criminal justice system. The causes of racial disparity and the reasons it is on the rise, the research statistics, and the proposed solutions are discussed.

In modern-day America the issue of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system is controversial because there is substantial evidence confirming both individual and systemic biases. While there is reason to believe that there are discriminatory elements at every step of the judicial process, this treatment will investigate and attempt to elucidate such elements in two of the most critical judicial junctures, criminal apprehension and prosecution.

The existence of racial disparity and structural inequality within the criminal justice system renders the concept of true justice for all unobtainable. The statistics of convictions and prison sentences by race definitely support the concept that discrimination is a problem in the justice system as well as the insignificantly number of minority judges and lawyers. There are a multitude of circumstances that influence these statistics according to the “Central Eight” criminogenic risk factors. The need for programs and methods to effectively deter those at risk individuals has never been greater and the lack of such programs is costing society in countless ways.

Policing and punishment in America is hardly colorblind. It is not a coincidence that minorities serve longer sentences, have higher arrest and conviction rates, face higher bail amounts, and are more often the victims of police use of deadly force than white citizens. When it comes to criminals, many people have a preconception of what a criminal is. Usually when people think of a criminal they picture a Black or Latino face. The thought of an Asian criminal is often related to Asian gangs. Interestingly enough, White people as a group are rarely associated with the thought of crime, even though they account for 70% of arrests and 40% of the prison population each year (Russel xiv). This seems to be

At the prosecution stage, African Americans are subject to racially biased charges and plea agreements (TLC, 2011). African Americans are less likely to have their charges dismissed or reduced or to receive any kind of alternate sentencing than their white counterparts (TLC, 2011). In the last stage, the finding of guilt and sentencing, the decisions of jurors may be affected by race (Toth et al, 2008) African Americans receive racially discriminatory sentences from judges (TLC, 2011). A New York study from 1990 to 1992 revealed one-third of minorities would have receive a lesser sentence if they were treated the same as white and there would have been a 5 percent decrease in African Americans sent to prison during that time period if they had received the same probation privileges (TLC, 2011). African Americans receive death sentences more than whites who have committed similar crimes (Toth et al, 2008). Because of the unfair treatment from the beginning to the end of the justice system there is an over represented amount of African Americans in prison (Toth et al, 2008). Some of the problems faced by African Americans in prison are gangs, racial preferences given to whites, and unfair treatment by prison guards (Toth et al, 2008).

Yale also identified Jack Montagne, a basketball player was also named as an offender. NACC B news source talked about what other sources discussed about Hack Montagne, “the Associated Press, among other outlets, is reporting that Jack Montague, who was the basketball captain at Yale last season, is suing his former school,” (Norlander 2016). The paper gave more information than other articles because they reviled what sport Montague plays. Another schools that names their offender is Bucknell University, which one papers names one offender as Dempsey and states that he was suspended but later graduated from the university. The article states, “Dempsey was suspended from Bucknell and charged with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. His suspension was lifted after two days because terms of his bail stipulated no contact with the woman,” (Beauge 2015). Dempsey was the only offender named by newspapers about the school. It shows how large of a case Dempsey was for the school that he would be named by articles. Another important case from the University of Delaware, is about offender, Paul DeFeo. The article stated, “Paul DeFeo, a University of Delaware student from New Jersey, recently had charges of rape and strangulation dismissed in

Male student athletes make up 3.3% of the population but are responsible for 19% of sexual assaults and 35% of domestic violence.  One in three college sexual assaults are committed by an athlete or athletes.  From 1995 to 1998 there were an average of one hundred sexual assault charges against athletes a year.  In 1995, 8.5% of the general population charged with a crime were sexual assault, 36.8% of crimes involving athletes were sexual assault.  The general population conviction rate is 80%, athlete conviction rate is 38%.(NCAVA)  Since not all rapes are reported we can assume that these numbers are much higher.  Most athlete rapes are acquaintance rapes.  Many of the women blame themselves and do not report the crime.  These are very scary statistics.  Proving that there is a problem and steps need to be taken to change these statistics.

Hispanics are overrepresented in prisons and jails all over the country and the nation’s criminal justice system. They are jailed three more times than white men and women and kept before trial for first time offenses twice as often as white as well, despite being the ethnic group with the least possibility of having a criminal history. “Hispanics experience discrimination during arrest, prosecution and sentencing, and are more likely to be incarcerated than whites charged with the same offenses. Problems at the arrest stage include racial profiling and targeting poorer, “high crime” neighborhoods, which impacts people of color. Hispanics are disproportionately represented by publicly appointed legal counsel, who are overworked and underpaid.

While looking at the massive number of people incarcerated in the United States, it is easy to see that a major disparity presents itself when looking at the races of those incarcerated. The numbers are astonishing: “Though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately 32 percent of the US population, they comprised 56 percent of all incarcerated people in 2015” (“Criminal Justice Fact Sheet”, n.d.). These questions arise: Is our criminal justice system discriminatory? Or, do minorities actually engage in more crime than whites? The statistics are clear:

Racism has a huge impact on society to this day. The greatest wrong doing in the U.S criminal justice system is that it is a race based organization where African Americans are specifically focused on and rebuffed in a considerably more forceful route than white individuals. Saying the Us criminal justice system is racist might be politically disputable in different ways. In any case, the actualities are debatable. Underneath I explain many cases of these issues. Information on race is available for each step of the criminal justice system – from the use of drugs, police stops, arrests, getting off on bail, legal representation, jury selection, trial, sentencing, prison, parole, and freedom.

King, R. D., Johnson, K. R., & McGeever, K. (2010). Demography of the legal profession and racial disparities in sentencing. Law & Society Review, 44(1), 1-32. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5893.2010.00394.x