U.S. Justice Department and Racial Inequality Racial inequality in the criminal justice system is a belief that through research and statistics is a structural inequality that exists at different levels noted throughout the system stemming from those convicted and those convicting. According to literature published by the Leadership Conference, the nation’s premier civil and human right coalition, “racial inequality is growing, not receding. Our criminal laws, while facially neutral, are enforced in a manner that is massively and pervasively biased. The injustices of the criminal justice system threaten to render irrelevant fifty years of hard-fought civil rights progress” (Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, 2011). In today’s …show more content…
It has been noted that one’s race plays a vital role in the chances of being pulled over by the police. According to a New York article published in the City Journal in 2009, Blacks were pulled over 55% of the time and were only 23% of the city’s population while Hispanics, being 28% of the population were pulled over 32%, and Whites were pulled over 10% of the time and accounted for 38% of the population (MacDonald, 2010). Prison sentences and time served are based on the crime committed. I will discuss violent crimes and drug crimes. “Violent offenders are persons convicted of homicide, kidnapping, forcible rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault, or other crimes involving the threat or imposition of harm upon the victim, including extortion, intimidation, reckless endangerment, hit-and-run driving with injury, or child abuse” (Greenfeld, 1995, p.1). According to data collected from States by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), violent offenders served 48% of their sentence in 1992, an average of 42 months of their 89 month sentence (Greenfeld, 1995). Drug offenses consist of possession and trafficking. In Illinois there are four state statutes that address drug offenses. These include “the cannabis control act, the hypodermic syringes and needles act, the drug paraphernalia control act, and the controlled substances act” (Olson, 2000. p.1). Drug offenses are also broken up
Professor Michael Tonry is the McKnight Presidential Professor of Criminal Law and Policy, director of the Institute on Crime and Public Policy of the University of Minnesota. He is one of the leading scholars of crime and punishment who has put race and race disparity at for front of the American Criminal Justice System and written many scholarly books on the topic. In his other works he has shaped an image of how racially minded the Criminal Justice System is and how such injustice has been applied to African Americans. Based on Tonry`s credentials, the book reviewed in this paper complies valuable and trustworthy statistics and information, and also author`s own experience in this particular field. The book “Punishing Race: A Continuing American Dilemma” is a work of Michael Tonry in which he tries to address the issue of disparity and discrimination toward African Americans and how systematically attitudes and mind set have shaped laws and limitations by the government on this particular group of American society.
This paper discusses the racial inequities of the United States criminal justice system, especially pertaining to the African American male. Incarcerated African American males out number incarcerated White males by 6 times the United States national average (The Sentencing project, 2013). Racial disparities start with the first steps of being detained by law enforcement in the community. Disparity treatment progresses throughout the arrest, the investigation, interrogation, the trial process, representation of the arrested party, the sentencing process, and post release effects. Some factors will be provided to show some of the reasons as to why African American males and other minorities are
First, these studies show that they are procedures made and practiced by those who are working for the legal system more than the criminal justice system that preceded them. For example, they helped break down some misconstrued ideas and flaws, such as not controlling one particular independent variable to control the situation or the person 's criminal history.. Second, contemporary studies deny any racial disadvantages or bias against minorities. Instead of this perspective, current research attempts to ask: “If racial bias exist for minorities under law enforcement and in any criminal sentencing process, when has it been clear?”
Today, the American criminal justice system acts as a front for state racism, imprisoning, disenfranchising, and disadvantaging minorities in shocking numbers. Colour-blind racists justify this as a cultural phenomenon rather than a flaw in the justice system. However, there is overwhelming evidence of a racial bias in the justice system. The infamous “War on Drugs” compounded the effects of this racial bias by instituting mandatory minimum sentences for minor drug offences. These sentences push what were formerly minor offences into the felony offence category. The legal system creates no less than three different patterns of inequality for convicted felons, of which a staggering number constitute racial minorities. Along with the obvious immediate consequences of imprisonment, felons are disenfranchised and
Most Americans would like to think that our criminal justice system is working the way it was intended, but they’re not aware that our criminal justice system shows strong evidence that it is biased and discriminatory in regards to minorities, the majority are African Americans. Studies show that African Americans are more aggressively targeted and punished throughout the system, not just during sentencing. Data collected nationally shows how race is correlated to drug use, police stops, arrests, likelihood to be released on bail, jury selection, trial, sentencing, prison as well as the option of capital punishment.
This paper explores the inequality in our criminal justice system today. Several examples were cited from movies, textbooks, court cases and articles on the topics, bringing to light the controversy that our society is dealing with every day. Our police force and court systems are being manipulated by the use of money to influence outcomes in trials, and it provides a prejudicial backdrop for many in our communities today. If we are to come together as a society, and break down these barriers, we must be diligent in our efforts to reduce racial profiling casualties, where innocent people are being persecuted for
The justice system in America is racially biased. A study in 2006 said “...about one in 33 black men was in prison, compared with one in 205 white men and one in 79 Hispanic men” (Mac Donald, 2008). However, in order to determine this, one must consider both sides of the situation.
from October 2013- May 2014 shows that Connecticut police made about 370.000 traffic stops during this time period. Black make only 7.9 percent of the state population, however, they accounted more than 14 percent of traffic stops. Latinos, on the other hand, account for 9.7 of the state population, however, represented 11.8 percent of traffic stops in comparison to whites that accounted for 2.65 percent of all traffic stops. This gruesome data shows that there is a disproportionate rate of who’s being stopped. Further, in an analysis of the San Diego Police Department data, found that African Americans in that particular city are 50 percent more likely to be stopped than any other driver. Consequently, Smith et al. (2003) report that African American drivers were 17 percent more likely than their white counterparts to be ticketed by the North Carolina Highway Patrol.
This research paper is on racial discrimination in our criminal justice system. Unfortunately racism does exist in our criminal justice system, with our police department, jails and court system. In the police department there's a lot of racial profiling blacks over whites. In our jails more African American are being treating worse than white inmates. Also in our court system blacks are giving more time to serve than whites.
The purpose of my project is to study and learn how race influences the legal justice system issues such as punitive crime policy, contact with law enforcement officers, etc. I intend to research some of the history of crime policy in the U.S. and whether or not racial discrimination bias within the legal justice system, and if racial neutrality is even possible. I will begin my research using the school library and academic sources, such as books and peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles, as well as educational web sources. I will specifically use sources that high point the racial and prejudice inequalities found within the legal justice system, and that suggest critical and sociological clarifications for those incongruences. My hypothesis is that I will discovery that racial bias in the legal justice system has produced some of the racial inequalities that exist and that racial neutrality within the legal system is unlikely.
There is, however, a concern that racial discrimination in the criminal justice system might impact the number of arrests and the severity of sentencing (Burton & Ginsberg,
This paper discusses the social justice issue of discrimination in the American criminal justice system. It reveals the history behind the integrated racism in the system and its effect on people of color. The key organization, Black Lives Matters, addresses the issue and is critically analyzed. A new solution that improves upon the social justice issue by targeting youth is presented.
America has become one of the most diverse and wealthiest countries in the world. Although the United States is wealthy, not all individuals have benefited from that wealth. Throughout society, African American communities have become marginalized, with areas of poverty, high crime rates, discrimination and few opportunities for advancement. These areas are often locations where racial and cultural minorities live. Racial disparities exist within the criminal justice system and have shown many problems of inequality between the white and black race. In addition to having inequality within the criminal justice system, the criminals also have impacted their family members in different ways due to being incarcerated. The media has misrepresented African Americans by emphasizing African Americans participating in crimes while ignoring crimes committed by whites. People in society are assuming that only black people commit crimes, which is unfair because the incidences of people committing crimes are about equal between the races. Racial disparity favors white people over black people in the criminal justice system. Therefore, society must reevaluate the way society portrays who commits crimes, and where they are committed.
Is there racial discrimination in the United States criminal justice system? If so, how can we change this? Police brutality against minorities has specifically brought attention to this subject. Researchers have been studying racial prejudice in everyday life, police interactions with civilians, and in the courtroom.
Is there racial discrimination in the United States criminal justice system? If so, how can we change this? Police brutality against minorities has specifically brought attention to this subject. Researchers have been studying racial prejudice in everyday life, police interactions with civilians, and in the courtroom.