Racial Inequality

The criminal justice system is a set of organizations and procedures set up by governments to control wrongdoing and force punishments on the individuals who disregard the laws. The main frameworks are state and federal. The state criminal justice systems handle wrongdoings perpetrated inside their state limits and government, the federal criminal system handles violations carried out on federal property or in more than one state. This system is supposed to be equal yet the nature of offenses, differential policing policies and practices, sentencing laws and biases are possible contributors to disparities in the system. The severity of the offense, prior record, age and education level are also taking into account when a decision is being made. Our prison system today varies immensely with ascending numbers of minority groups jailed within the system. Racial and ethnic imbalances continue in the United States and no disparity is more evident than that found in the criminal justice system. Disparity usually refers to a difference that is unfair, disparity in the criminal justice system stems from racial disparity which concludes that the proportion of a racial ethnic group within the control of the system is greater than the population of that group outside that control.

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

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

Racial disparity in the correctional population refers to the difference in the number of minorities versus whites represented inside institutions. “The American Correctional Association acknowledges that racial disparity exists within adult and juvenile detention and correctional systems. This contributes to the perception of unfairness and injustice in the justice system ("ACA Policies and," 2004).” “Blacks comprise 13% of the national population, but 30% of people arrested, 41% of people in jail, and 49% of those in prison. Nationwide, blacks are incarcerated at 8.2 times the rate of whites (Human Rights Watch, 2000).” This difference in proportionality does not necessarily

There are approximately 7 billion people in this world. Each person has a unique combination of traits such as skin tone, face shape, body type, eye color, hair color, and other characteristics. These traits vary due to genetics, environmental factors, and much more. An individual 's race is defined by their physical characteristics and how they differ among others. Race is not defined by the way an individual behaves or portrays themselfes; it is based strictly off of their physical traits. Since America was founded, race has played a significant role in the relations of the citizens in this country. For decades, different races have been stereotyped and been prejudice towards one another, without realizing how invalid their judgements are. Specifically, African Americans have been discriminated by caucasians in America since it’s founding. It began by the enslaving of African Americans, and today, the discrimination and inequality is more hidden in society. Although America has made significant progress in overcoming racial inequality in the country, many African Americans are still being subject to hardships that Caucasian Americans do not face, especially in regards to the justice system.

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.

When it comes to arrest and incarceration, black men are overrepresented in comparison to Hispanics and whites. Over forty years ago the Civil Rights Act was implemented and racism still continues today due in part to a form of cultural imagery. This structured inequality is evident in the politics of government and all levels of the criminal justice system. The very system that is to be fair has been found to be racially disparate in the treatment of blacks. The causes and existence of this state has been researched for over the last twenty years as to it why does it exist, what are the consequences and how to correct it.

The intersection of racial dynamics with the criminal justice system is one of longstanding duration. In earlier times, courtrooms in many jurisdictions were comprised of all white decision-makers. Today, there is more diversity of leadership in the court system, but race still plays a critical role in many

Legal inequality is an injustice that people of color have been subject to for years. In the US, racial discrimination against people of color in the justice system such as mass incarceration and racial profiling generates a wide variety of public issues that influence the life possibilities of the Latino and Black communities. Laws were created in an effort to ensure the safety and stability of everyone everywhere. With that being said, however, the laws did and do not always have the best interest of certain races in mind. In the book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration and Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander discusses legal inequality in relation to race by asserting that the legal system discriminates against people of color, specifically African Americans, just like they were treated during the Jim Crow era. Legal Equality can be defined as individuals having the same resources and rights available to them equally and on the same level, regardless of race. This paper will argue that the U.S. legal system targets people of color through incarceration, the War on Drugs, and racial segregation.

Johnson, H. B. (2014). The American dream and the power of wealth: Choosing schools and inheriting inequality in the land of opportunity. Routledge.

Although the majority of Americans preaches that the days of racism are far behind, it is clear that institutional racism still exists in this country. One way to look at this institutional racism is to examine at the United States prison system and the gap of incarceration rates among African Americans, Hispanics, and White males. According to a research by Prison Policy Initiative both African Americans and Hispanics are imprisoned at 5.1 times and 1.8 times higher than the rate of White Americans for every 100,000 incarcerations, respectively. Throughout the history of the United States, it is obvious that the reasons for the disparity of the incarceration rate are related to policies, irregularities, and implicit prejudices. Families and children of the incarcerated are adversely affected due to the discrimination. However, many white Americans don’t see how racism affects incarceration rates and they would argue that the economic situation and past arrest patterns are responsible for the sustainable increase in the incarceration rate for African Americans and Hispanics. While the economic opportunity can indeed play a role in decision making, this argument doesn’t fully explain the real reason of this occurrence. In order to fully understand the reason, there is a need to review the history of the United States. Through the review, it is clear that the past arrest patterns is more an indicator of institutional racism still exists in this country. The New Jim Crow: Mass

Studies show that police are more likely to pull over and frisk blacks or Latinos than whites. In New York City, 80% of the stops made were blacks and Latinos, and 85% of those people were frisked, compared to a mere 8% of white people stopped (11 Facts about Racial Discrimination). America is known as the land of opportunity. Immigrants and people come from far and wide seeking success and achieving their dream in this land. There is a reason for that and throughout history this reason hasn’t changed. America is a melting pot. The most diverse country in the world. We have Asians, African Americans, Chinese, Indians and much more all living together as one. You go into any big business, law firm or

When we speak about race equality, we only think as far as black and white people, when it’s actually a lot more in depth than just the two. Racism is when a person or people of a certain color or origin feel as though they are better than another group of people, who are different than they are. Racism has been going on since time can date back. In this world, especially in the United States, we need race quality. According to different races, you’ll get different answers on the other races. Not all Caucasians are racist, not all African Americans are ignorant, and not all Muslims are terrorists, so on and so forth. With white law enforcements killing innocent black people, the new “Black Lives Matter” movement has started, the “white privileges”

The stereotypes derived from ethnic differences are a crucial source of inequality found in education outcomes. According to Steele and Aronson (1995, p. 808), the concept of stereotype threat refers to the condition of individuals at risk of conforming to the negative stereotypes associated with them, which lead to self-characterisation. This analysis of stereotype threat is important because ethnicity plays a role in reproducing unequal academic performances. For instance, past research has identified poorer mathematical performance in white men who were confronted with the stereotype of Asian superiority in maths, compared to those without such confrontation (Aronson et al. 1999, pp. 37-38). Similarly, a study has proven how the cultural stereotype of black’s intellectual inferiority is an affecting factor to the academic performances of African American college students, as they perform poorer when stereotype was reinforced (Steele & Aronson 1995). These studies contend how ethnicity plays a part in categorising individuals into separate identities, which have the ability to generate inequality in educational outcomes. Additionally, the different cultural orientations of certain ethnic groups may either encourage or discourage an individual’s academic achievements (Kao & Thompson 2003, p. 419). To illustrate, in the United States (US), Asians represent the 54 per cent of individuals with bachelor’s degree, whereas Hispanics reported the lowest