Racial Discrimination In Jails

Racial discrimination is where an employer commits race discrimination when it makes job decisions based on race or when it adopts seemingly neutral job policies that disproportionately affect members of a particular race. Federal and most state laws prohibit workplace race discrimination. Title VII -- the federal law that prohibits racial discrimination of the U.S. Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 work in concert to ensure that each resident’s chances in the pursuit of happiness are not damaged by their race. Although it is prohibited I believe that it is still an issue especially within the criminal justice system. I will support my answer with an ample amount of facts regarding racial discrimination within the criminal justice system.

Minorities remain overrepresented in crime, offending, victimization, and all stages of the criminal justice process especially confinement. Overrepresentation alludes to a situation in which a greater part of a particular group is present at various stages within the justice system than would be expected based on its part in the general population (Rosich, 2007). Minorities have always had a larger population in the prison system and after the Civil War they were overrepresented in American prison. There are a few reasons as to why races are disproportionately which are denial of jobs, poverty, and it is felt that police have bias and

The issue of racial disproportion in the United States has been an ongoing topic in history since slavery. As Americans we are affected by racial injustices everyday. One may not realize how their own racial identity plays a part in their everyday life experiences. The dynamics of racial oppression and privilege with the United States is incredibly complex ranging from the time of establishment to present day. The present day racial inequality within the criminal justice system and incarceration rates has peaked in the United States over the last 30 years. According to the NAACP the number of incarcerated individual has quadruples from roughly 500.00 to 2.3 million people. In 2008 African American and Hispanics comprised of 58% of the

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

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.

The term minority encompasses African Americans and Hispanics that live in the United States. These special populations are often overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Although our laws designed to make life fair and equal for minorities, they still report unfair treatment and struggles that white Americans do not experience. Policy changes in areas of social prevention, arrest and incarceration, and discharge, such as implementing help groups for youth, reform of and creating trust in law enforcement, and strong exit programs, can lead to fair treatment and reduction of representation of minorities in the criminal justice system.

Mass incarceration is the biggest challenge within the criminal justice system. Discrimination against African Americans was once legal; however, today it is legal to discriminate against criminals. Once you’re labeled a felon, many forms of discrimination comes into play such as employment and housing discrimination, denial of the right to vote, denial of educational opportunities, denial of food stamps, exclusion from jury service and much more. The United States now has its highest rate of incarceration in the world and the United States imprisons a larger percentage of its black population. There is a widespread of beliefs that race no longer matters which has blinded us to the realities of race in our society.

The first minorities that are often discriminated against are African Americans, more specifically, African American males. As of 2009, Johnson (2014) states that 39.4 percent of blacks represented the majority of the prisons (as cited in Bowman, 2014b, p. 324). According to Hartney and Vuong (2009), African Americans are more likely to get less favorable results than whites when it comes to the death penalty, prison sentencings, recidivism, etc. They’ve also stated that blacks are more likely to be sentenced to prison, while whites are sentenced to probation. Blacks are treated quite differently than the white inmates. Some studies have found that African Americans expressed great concern over the justice system, and have distributed their fear by becoming angry and hostile when they become incarnated, thus leading to more violent conflicts. Not only that, blacks are more prone to be viewed as intimidating by white prison employees, which is why most african americans are kept under surveillance besides the white and hispanic prisoners (Hawkins and Ross, n.d.). Prisons have also showcased different ways that African Americans are discriminated. A few examples are that white inmates were given better work tasks, while blacks were left with the custodian jobs. The prison system has also denied blacks of being able to transfer over to better housing and better tasks, which has led African Americans to complain about these discriminating acts (Hawkins and Ross, n.d.).

here is a serious problem with our justice system. It is not a secret that people are judged by the color of their skin, ethnicity and in some cases by religious beliefs. I strongly believe that race affects how an individual is perceived/ treated and it plays an important role in the American criminal justice. Unfortunately, race plays an important role in the American criminal justice system, also this issue exists in other countries and societies. The American justice system is not an exception of this wrongdoing. For instance, minorities, such as African Americans and Latinos, are often prosecuted differently than Caucasians offenders. Verdicts not only tend to be much harsher, but are also accompanied by longer-term sentences. According to the article titled, “Justice is harsher in America than in any other rich country. Between 2.3m and 2.4 m Americans are behind bars, roughly one in every 100 adults.” where for the most part, the majority of inmates are minorities (Too Many Laws, Too Many Prisoners). “The incarceration rates disproportionately impact men of color: 1 in every 15 African American men and 1 in every 36 Hispanic men are incarcerated in comparison to 1 in every 106 white men” ([infographic] Combating Mass Incarceration – The Facts). The question is, why have minorities have become the majority of the American prison population?

“The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its black population than South Africa did at the height of apartheid. In Washington, D.C., our nation’s capitol, it is estimated that three out of four young black men (and nearly all those in the poorest neighborhoods) can expect to serve time in prison” (Alexander, 2012). The numbers tell the story better than words can: black people are more likely to go to prison than any other race in the United States, shown by the fact that more than 60% of the prison population is composed of people of color (The Sentencing Project, 2016). These statistics can be traced back to several different cause, including the Era of Jim Crow and the War on Drugs, both of which led to higher policing in minority areas.

Why is discrimination present in the United States criminal justice system? How is the system setup for people of color to fail? This social problem is interesting for many reasons. Many people believe that racism is still a key factor in today’s society. The justice system, which should stand for equality and peace, in reality does spread the public’s beliefs of racism and an unfair justice system. 74.0% of blacks do not agree that the justice system treats people fairly and equally(Hurwitz and Peffley,769) More than three quarters of a million Black men are now behind bars, and 2 million are under some form of correctional supervision(Brewer and Heitzeg,628). Many activists and civil leaders would find this problem very interesting.

History shows how minorities within America have been marginalized. Minorities have endured many forms of social injustices. Racial profiling and stereotyping are just two forms in which minorities have been facing for years. In today’s world, these injustices still remain an issue and arguably have become worst. These are issues that have left minorities feeling as though they are belittled and not treated as fairly as the majority in our society. This leaves lasting impacts, not only emotionally, but mentally and psychologically as well.

These examples prove that social status and unearned privileges prevent us from protecting freedom and promoting equality. If we didn’t have such a gap between races, social classes, gender, and other factors of identity, people would be more open to helping each. Thereby, a concept like the Original Position is the only way justice could

1 I will be answering question 1 is there a relationship between the historical expression of racism and the role of the prison system today?

Racial discrimination is a social injustice we face in society. In the United States, racial discrimination against minorities in the criminal justice system triggers a range of societal issues that influence African Americans, particularly males. African Americans have been affected in this area in two significant regards. First, African Americans are more likely to be victimized by crime than are other groups. This creates a set of individual and community problems which impede upon other areas of productive activity. Second, the dramatic rates at which African American males have come under some form of criminal justice supervision has created a complex set of consequences which affect not only individual victims and offenders, but families and communities as well. These conditions now disproportionately affect African American males and other minorities due to their overwhelming numbers within the criminal justice system. Did you know that 49% of prison inmates nationally are African American, compared to their 13% share of the overall population in the United States.