Race Poverty And Punishment Essay

Some people define race as if it is something solid or concrete, but what they don’t see is that it is a “social fabrication”(Mathew Desmond, Mustafa Emibayer,2009;2). Race is based on the difference in physical appearance which is determined, for example, by the most apparent trait; skin color. Inequality emerges when people living, whether on the same sovereign terrain or across continents, are not treated with the same amount of respect and not given the chance to engage their rights in a free and fair manner. Race and inequality are often linked together because of the “issues that began in the 1800s”(NFB;Journey to Justice;2000) such as racial segregation. Over the years issues of race and inequality have

For my final project I chose to focus on Race and sentencing. The United States is about 5% of the world’s population but when it comes to world prisoners the Unites States is about 25%. In the United States African Americans are incarcerated 5 times more than whites in state prisons throughout the country and also 10 times more than whites in 5 states. In this paper I am going to research and study specific articles and studies that document the rate of incarceration for African Americans and Whites. This is not only a problem state by state sentencing but it is also problem for federal sentencing as well. Not only am I going to look at race and sentencing but I am going to also

In his book “Punishment and Inequality in America” Western discusses the underlying racial disparities that have lead to a mass incarceration in the United States. He states that incarceration rates have increased by a substantial amount. The race and class disparities viewed in impromesment are very large and class disparities have grown by a dramatic amount. In his book he argues that an increase in mass incarceration occured due to a significant increase in crime. The increase in mass incarceration can also be correlated with urban street crime that proliferated as joblessness in inner-city communities increased (Western, 2006). He also states that an increase in incarceration rates may be due to the changes in politics and policy which have intensified criminal punishment even though criminal offending did not increase. Although these are substantial reasons as to why incarceration has increased significantly in the US there are many underlying issues. The incarceration rates amongst young black men have increased the most in the United states, black men are more likely to go to prison than white and Hispanic men (Western, 2006). This may be largely due to factors such as unemployment, family instability, and neighborhood disorder which combine to produce especially high rates of violence among young black men in the United States (Western, 2006). A rise in incarceration rates may also be largely due to to increased drug arrests which represent the racial disparity.

Further barriers include the surrounding neighborhoods where the poor grow up. Rarely are there any positive role models for children to observe. Instead, poverty stricken areas are proportionately heavier in crime and drugs (Segal, 2010). In most inner-city impoverished neighborhoods the criminals and drug dealers are the only models

In this article, as the title suggests, it explains the use of social class differences to explain racial differences in crime. Among earlier arguments are the subculture of violence and subculture of poverty theories, which argue that African Americans tend to have pro-crime norms and values. The article's author, Robert D. Crutchfield, goes in depth with recent and more advanced theories to explain the link between poverty, crime, and race, while criticizing the subcultural theories. These new theories tell a different view from that of the subcultural theories with evidence showing that economic disadvantage and the way how society is structured accounts for the link between poverty, crime, and race. From these evidence, ethnographers conclude

It has been brought up that certain race and ethic affects a person’s sentencing. Many studies have addressed the question are African Americans treated more severely than similarly situated whites? (Mitchell, 2005). Observers had indeed noted that black defendants get more severe sentencing than white defendants do (Spohn, 1981). For many years’ social scientist has examined this theory and came up with three explanations, racial discrimination, Wealth discrimination, and legal factors (Sellin, 1928). These three explanations all direct back to blacks because blacks are more likely to be poor, so they are wealth discriminated. Also, legal factors point to blacks because black defendants are more likely to have a serious charge or criminal record than whites do. Some researchers examine whether race has an impact on juveniles being convicted in the adult system (Howell, 2012) as well.

Sentencing disparities as a result of an individual’s race or ethnic background, has been one of the most frequently investigated topics in criminological research. (Mitchell, Mackenzie 2004). Several studies have attempted to understand the impact of the offenders’ race on criminal sentencing but there has been variation in the results- some of studies concluded race does effect sentencing regardless of the legal variables; some studies revealed it does not; while other studies concluded that race does impact sentencing when coupled with other factors. (Pratt 1998).

Throughout history, there have been good people and bad ones, and a major deciding factor in this is background. The chances of being dissatisfactory are often increased if a person has a low income or the person is living in a poor neighborhood and is a person of color. These illegal activities that are commonly found in poorer areas often lead a person down the wrong path in life. These paths are not the path to success, but a path to a jail cell. The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore demonstrates the effects of drugs and violence, two common actions that end up with an unfortunate aftermath. Bryan Stevenson mentions the consequences of being bad differ due to race and wealth in his TED Talk, “We need to talk about injustice”. In “Brown VS. Board of Education: 50 years later segregation by Income”, Nanette Asimov reports how “wealth has created separate and unequal schools”, this article relates to Bryan Stevenson’s TED Talk in the fact that the both refer to how schools have unequal opportunities due to money, which is a factor of background. 60 Minutes reports David Cash’s story, should he be charged for his actions? Raised in a poor neighborhood where parents are unable to pay their bills, a child’s chances of success are significantly lower than a child whose parents can provide every wish for them. A child who was raised in a poor neighborhood, has much greater chances of having a worse outcome in life, due to the influences of the poor neighborhood and what people have

“Racism is a bad thing, you find it everywhere in the schools, the clubs and also in the streets.”

These arrests included: disorderly conduct, drug violation, runway, curfew/loitering. With the high number of African Americans arrest, they desperately need evidence-based practices that will work for them. The program will target the juveniles and their families that live in low income/poverty areas. Statistics have shown that most crimes take place in in low-income/poverty areas. Low income means that the person has a small amount of money. Poverty means that that person is

Throughout our society, people often question the meaning of being an American. America is defined as the land of the free and home of the brave. Most people say America is a country where everyone is treated equally no mater what color of skin you are right? But who determines the freedom of an individual? Since the beginning of American history things were never equal. Blacks were forced and taken as slaves into America by white slave traders. Blacks and other minorities are often faced with unfair disparities within the criminal justice system due to the color of their skin or the bias of race and culture. In this debate, I will analyze the racial disparities within the criminal justice system by analyzing sentencing individual convicted of the drug offense of powder and crack cocaine.

There are many ethnic differences in each stage of the justice system. In order to be able to prove these it is important to break the system down, and evaluate it bit by bit, showing the possible signs of ethnic differences.

There is seen to be a link between power and crime, the more powerful you are, the least likely to be committing a crime, so the lower classes are discriminated here as they don’t have the same power a middle-class or upper-class businessman might have therefore they are labelled to be trouble-makers, they are treated harsher by the criminal justice system than their peers, but the lower class is seen more favourably than ethnic minorities, especially ethnic groups that have less power than them. In the 1960’s, researchers found that blacks were more severely sentenced than whites. Hagan in 1974 reviewed many of the findings supporting racial discrimination and found that studies were not allowing for the possibility that black defendants may be charged with more serious crimes than whites, and may have more serious criminal records (cited in ‘Theoretical Criminology’). Lizotte in 1978 found that blacks have been shown to receive harsher sentences because they are less likely to make bail, since they are less affluent, and this reduces their ability to provide an effective defence.

In the United States and internationally, there is a multitude of indicators that the racial environment is changing. Environmental pollution and racism are connected in more ways than one. The world is unconsciously aware of environmental intolerances, yet continues to expose the poor and minorities to physical hazards. Furthermore, sociologist continue to study “whether racial disparities are largely a function of socioeconomic disparities or whether other factors associated with race are also related to the distribution of environmental hazards” (Mohai and Saha 2007: 345). Many of these factors include economic positions, health disparities, social and political affairs, as well as racial inequalities.

These laws hit single parent or low income homes more than stable two parent household. Gang members often come from low income household and the children of low income households are more likely to be exposed to violent crime. The rates of adolescent exposure to violent crime are rising. Teenagers are more likely to be victims of