Racial Disparity in Prisons Essay examples

The unfortunate truth of incarceration during the era of mass imprisonment is that African Americans are seven times more likely to be incarcerated than whites. Blacks were more likely than whites to go to prison, at least since the 1920’s (Western 2006: 4). By analyzing the rates of prison admission for blacks and whites at different levels of education, it shows that class inequalities in imprisonment increased as the economic status of low-education men deteriorated. Among young black men, particularly those with little schooling, the level of incarceration was increasingly high. So, why is it that young African American men are incarcerated at much higher rates than their counterparts?

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.

Racial disparity in sentencing in the criminal justice system is a problematic issue. Individuals often believe that racial disparity in sentencing does not exist; however, substantial proof in the criminal justice system proves otherwise. According to statistics of Marc Mauer, “unprecedented rise in the populations of prisons over the past three decades is a six fold increase, resulting in the incarceration of nearly two million Americans.” The breakdown of statistics is as follows: “One in every eight African-American male groups between 25-34 year old is a result of incarceration and 32% of African-American males born to society can expect to spend a term in a federal or state prison if the current

Mass Incarceration in the United States has been a large topic of choice because rapid growth in the prison and jail populations, the long sentences the inmates face, and the inability for some inmates to incorporate themselves back into society. Since the 1970’s the U.S. prison population quadrupled from 158 to 635 people per 100,000, causing the U.S. to gain the title of country with the highest incarceration rate. (Massoglia, Firebaugh, & Warner, 2013, p. 142; Muller, 2012) As the growth of the U.S prison and jail population rapidly increased, so did the growth of the three major contributors to that population – African Americans, Hispanics, and whites – with African American and

As of December 2013, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the number of incarcerated males age 20-24 was 39,000 white males, 40,100 Hispanic males, and 68,400 black males (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2013). This paper will focus on why such racial disparities exist in the U.S. prison population. Research on prison sentencing can identify if there is discrimination in sentencing and imprisonment; however it is geographically limited to studying “hot spots”. Also the methodology and factors considered may be different.

In the prison system today, there has been an explosion of minorities being incarcerated for offenses that may not have gotten jail time if they had not been of a certain race. Although the overall numbers of incarcerations may have dropped just slightly for the first time in over 35 years, the amount of inmates

"Black men are seven times likely to go to prison than are white men; black women are eight times likely to go than are white women. The lifetime likelihood of incarceration for aggregate numbers requires some getting used to. If today's imprisonment stays stable, nearly one-third of black males

Mass incarceration is a large-scale problem that has emerged in recent decades. The reason for this lies in new laws and policies that crackdown on drug-related offenses. Since these policies have taken effect, the percent of people in prisons and jails has grown by 500% (The Sentencing Project). The 2015 population of inmates in either prison or jail was 2,173,800, this makes the United States the world leader in number of incarcerated people (The Sentencing Project). However, the rise in jail and prison populations has not spanned equally among races. The population of prisoners in 2015 was 1,476,847, with 523,000 of those prisoners being African American (The Sentencing Project). African Americans make up 13% of the population in the United

Not only are there racial disparities throughout the criminal justice system as a whole, but in many different aspects of the system, ranging from adolescents to adults. This paper will provide two cases to compare White and African American racial disparities throughout the criminal justice system. This paper will provide overall statistics and discuss the government officials’ part in racial disparities between African Americans and Whites. Lastly, this paper will provide foster care statistics, overall juvenile statistics, and juvenile court statistics for racial disparities between African Americans and Whites. There is implicit bias throughout the system. It is not known because implicit bias is not expressed. Implicit bias is not even known because not only is implicit bias not expressed, but implicit bias comes from a person’s unconscious part of the brain.

At the prosecution stage, African Americans are subject to racially biased charges and plea agreements (TLC, 2011). African Americans are less likely to have their charges dismissed or reduced or to receive any kind of alternate sentencing than their white counterparts (TLC, 2011). In the last stage, the finding of guilt and sentencing, the decisions of jurors may be affected by race (Toth et al, 2008) African Americans receive racially discriminatory sentences from judges (TLC, 2011). A New York study from 1990 to 1992 revealed one-third of minorities would have receive a lesser sentence if they were treated the same as white and there would have been a 5 percent decrease in African Americans sent to prison during that time period if they had received the same probation privileges (TLC, 2011). African Americans receive death sentences more than whites who have committed similar crimes (Toth et al, 2008). Because of the unfair treatment from the beginning to the end of the justice system there is an over represented amount of African Americans in prison (Toth et al, 2008). Some of the problems faced by African Americans in prison are gangs, racial preferences given to whites, and unfair treatment by prison guards (Toth et al, 2008).

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

“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.

Incarceration rates are a definite proof that racial discrimination occurs. “Incarceration rates in the United States have risen sharply since 1980”, stated Filip Spagnoli, “the racial distribution of inmates in the U.S. is highly negative for black Americans. Whereas they only make up 12% of the total U.S. population, they represent more than 40% of inmates”

There are so many more African-Americans than whites in our prisons that the difference cannot be explained by higher crime among African- Americans - racial discrimination is also at work, and it penalizes African- Americans at almost every juncture in the criminal justice system.1

Blacks are (proportionately) more likely than whites to live in such inner-city areas and thus more likely than whites to be arrested on drug charges.7 But one very important reason that blacks are more likely than whites to live in disorganized inner-city areas is that a greater percentage of blacks than whites are poor and unemployed. What might at first look like a straightforward racial disparity turns out to reflect economic status. 3. Blacks who travel the full route of the criminal justice system and end up in jail or prison are close in economic condition to whites who do. In 1978, 53 percent of black jail inmates had pre-arrest incomes below $3,000, compared with 44 percent of whites.8 1983, the median pre-arrest income of black jail inmates was $4,067 and that of white jail inmates was $6,312. About half of blacks in jail were unemployed before arrest and 44 percent of whites were.9 In 1991, 30 percent of whites in the prison population and 38 percent of blacks reported full- or part-time employment during the month before their arrest.10 4. Some studies suggest that race works to heighten the effects of economic condition on criminal justice outcomes, so that “being unemployed and black substantially increase[s] the chances of incarceration over those associated with being either unemployed or black.”11 This means that racism will