Racial Disparity

Over the past few decades, America has developed an obsession with incarceration. Since the early 70s, crime rates have remained stable, but as of 2006 the rate of incarceration has increased nearly 500% (Hallett 2006) and has only continued to increase since. Anti- crime rhetoric has led to more public fear than ever “even though the crime rates suggest that public safety has improved over the years” (Patten 2017) This increase in arrests is fueled mainly by “the war on drugs” and strict control of immigration. The war on drugs (Coined by Richard Nixon and spearheaded by Ronald Reagan) (Patten 2017) causes thousands of arrests each year, and targets minority communities (African Americans get arrested 8 times more frequently than white offenders for drug crimes). While anti-immigration laws target mainly Mexican

The “War On Drugs” and Anti Drug Abuse Act of 1986 required aggressive enforcement. One method is the use of undercover police to enforce these laws. Three factors can jeopardize a dealer’s income: 1) Nonpayment, 2) other dealers encroaching on territories; turf wars and the biggest factor 3) being caught by the police. A method that crack cocaine dealers used to protect these three factors was the use and possession of guns. In the 1980s and 1990’s guns were as plentiful as illegal drugs. The U.S. Department of Justice in a manual of “Promising Strategies To Reduce Gun Violence” cites that “those who are most likely to possess

Tougher sentencing is not likely to reduce illegal drug use or serious crime associated with drugs (Alexander, 2010; Mauer, 2009; Whitford & Yates, 2009). Despite that, politicians and law enforcement personnel continue to advocate for stronger sentences for those who take or sell drugs of any kind. The jails and prisons across the United States are filling up with drug offenders, and some believe that there are better uses for those jail cells and that there are many crimes that are more severe and significant. These are the crimes that should be provided with tougher sentencing guidelines, but yet illegal drug use is still a serious crime and should not go unpunished. What should be done, and how should changes be made? Those are tough questions that have to be explored and that do not have any easy answers for those who make the laws and those who enforce them. Drug incarceration has been on the rise, with mixed results. According to King (2008), "overall, between 1980 and 2003, the number of drug offenders in prison or jail increased by 1100% from 41,100 in 1980 to 493,800 in 2003, with a remarkable rise in arrests concentrated in African American communities."

Brennan and Spohn (2009), examined the effects of ethnicity and gender on sentencing lengths for drug offenders. It was discovered that African American males received longer sentences than those of white and Hispanic males. Female offenders of all ethnicities received shorter prison sentences than the prison sentences passed down upon male drug offenders. The study focused on data which was collected from three U.S. District Courts: the District of Minnesota, the District of Nebraska, and the Southern District of Iowa. While African American drug offenders were sentenced to longer sentences on average, only African American males were sentenced to significantly longer than any other individuals, regardless of their sex or ethnicity. Female drug offenders were also found to have received shorter sentences than male drug

Policies that target a specific racial group have been an issue that has been among us for a very long time. An example of this would be the high incarceration rates connected to cocaine sentences. This situation can be connected to the sentences that treat crack violations more harshly than those associated with powder cocaine. It is important to examine in the histories of this hostile guidelines in order to understand how they invited so much criticism, why they were so controversial, why they were so resistant to change, and how nonetheless occurred. The Federal Sentencing guidelines adopted in the United States in 1986 have been the subject of a variety of criticisms over the past twenty five years. During the 1800’s and early 1900’s, it was available and legal and commonly used in tonics and other medications. (Smith, 1986) Following this, cocaine became identified a toxic, addictive, and harmful. Consequently, the 1970’s and 1980’s saw a dramatic increase in powder cocaine used by the middle class (Chappell & Maggard, 2007). Both powder and crack cocaine have been proven to be addictive and to produce similar effects when used in large doses, which can increase the heart rate and result in strokes and even death. (Reinarman & Levine, 1997).

In recent decades, there have been increasing trends of incarceration, specifically in relation to the use and possession of illegal drugs. In 2010, there were 1.6 million people arrested for drug related offenses, which is approximately 1 person every 19 seconds. The majority of the arrests, however, are for possession of small amounts and are minor offenses (Criminal Justice Fact Sheet, NAACP). The controversy over the drug war is the element of concentration in cities, consistently in underprivileged neighborhoods, resulting in the emphasis of disproportionate incarceration of minority groups, expressly African Americans. This group is influenced heavily by over-imprisonment, which affects their economic standing and place in society, causing inequality between them and whites. The war on drugs and the measures used by the government to control drug use contributes to racism and inequality problems, as well as to the stigma following African Americans in modern America.

Although disenfranchisement in the South may not fully explain why drug addiction marginalizes racial minorities, it is key to explaining why African Americans and other minorities were subject to harsher penalties during 1990’s.

The U.S. Public Health Service Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reported in “1992 that 76% of drug users in the United States were white, 14% were African-American, and 8% were Hispanic (6).” Cocaine users were estimated to be 66% white, 17.6% Black, and 15.9% Hispanic. Which demonstrated patterns of use that don’t approach arrest disparities, as African Americans 'are less likely to use drugs than whites. There is also no sufficient evidence to conclude that African Americans are more likely to deal drugs, yet blacks more likely to be arrested for drug possession, nor are whites frisked at the same rate as blacks other minorities. Which demonstrates patterns of drug use that don’t approach arrest and incarceration disparities, as African Americans 'are less likely to use drugs than whites. (6)

The United States has a long history of racial injustices. Today, this can be seen manifested in our drug laws and policies. The war on drugs, otherwise known as the United States drug polices, systematically targets minorities and their communities. The war on drugs has caused a huge disparity between race, gender and sentencing. According to Gunja (2003), white people outnumber black people five to one in the United States, and they both use and sell drugs at similar rates. However, in seven states, 80%-90% of prisoners serving for drug related charges are black Gunja, F. (2003). These disparities are caused by “mandatory minimums” were sentencing for the same drug, but in different forms are much different. According to Women and Gender

For example, there is ethnic and racial discrimination in the Judicial systems of this country. Therefore, African-Americans are disproportionately imprisoned for non belligerent offenses such as illegal or unauthorized drug use or mishandling, whereas Caucasians use or abuse drugs correspondingly to what African-Americans do. This is shown in research conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union, “reported marijuana use among African-Americans was

Research frequently attributes some portion of recent disparities to changes in the prosecution and punishment of drug-related and other non-violent offenses and the host of sentencing laws enacted during the early 1980s (Beckett and Sasson 2000). As we look at the type of punishment we must also look at the fairness of treatment. A long line of research shows that African American and Hispanic criminal defendants are treated more harshly than their White counterparts by the police (Chambliss 1994), by judges (Hagan and Peterson 1995; Steffensmeier, Ulmer, and Kramer 1998; Spohn and Holleran 2000) and by parole and release boards (Myers 1993). This research states that not only does the type of punishment received affect the individuals and their outcome but how that punishment is carried out. A study from the political research association found that blacks are more likely to be sentenced to prison for the same crime than Whites. One third of people of color sentenced to prison would have received a shorter or non-incarcerative sentence if they had been treated in court the same way as White defendants facing similar charges (Civil Rights Org 2002).

The ‘war on drugs’ was not effective also because it created an increase of racial tension due to the fact that the movement was disproportionately targeted African American. Statistics show that 62% of users of illicit drugs were caucasian but 84% of individuals incarcerated for possession were African American.

“The war on drugs” is an American phrase which is usually applied to an operation of military intervention, prohibition of drugs and military aid, with the stated target of abbreviating the illegal drug trade. The massive amount of growth of prisoners from that time has highly contributed to the prison overflow that the US has become accustomed to today. In the United Sates, prisons contain more individuals than any other country in the world mostly because the war on drugs. Harsh punishments and misguided drug legislations specifications have resulted in great unfair consequences for those of colour. Even though rates of drug usage are parallel amongst ethnic and racial lines, people of Latino or black origin have a considerably higher chance of being criminalized. The drug war leads the way in mass incarceration and racial differences in the U.S. legal

His administration also launched a public relations campaign to change the American public view of drugs. In the center of all this, was the idea to demonize drugs and its users. Even though at this time, the drug problem was at an all-time low. Presidents Bush and Clinton aided in this campaign by also increasing the spending for the anti-drug campaign and intensified drug law enforcement. It almost seemed that no matter who was in office or occupied the executive branch, they never deviated from their overall anti-drug policies throughout the War on Drugs. With the growing support of this new war, policy makers had all they needed to move on to the next step of

In 1619, the first enslaved person was brought to the colonies. A few years passed and in 1676, Bacon’s Rebellion occurred and racial identities were first introduced. Since that time there has been a social divide in North America and different parts of the world. In the beginning of the 1900s laws are put were put in place in the South and Midwest for drugs directed towards minorities. For the purposes of this essay I want to look at race when describing how race disproportionately plays in the legal system for nonviolent drug offenses. In America since 1970 since Nixon declared a war on drugs and the introduction of crack cocaine in the 80s America there has seen a rise of prison inmates. The majority of the inmates are minorities being charged with nonviolent drug offenses. As result, I would like to examine the annual rates of nonviolent drug convictions by race since 1980.