The Role Of Race In The Criminal Justice System

Felons in and out of prison are not allowed to vote in the majority of the states. Not including Maine and Vermont, “48 states currently restrict the right of felons to vote” (Feser). “An estimated 5.85 million people with a felony conviction are barred from voting in elections - a condition known as disenfranchisement” (ProCon). Every state has their own laws regarding disenfranchisement. According to “Should Felons Vote?”, there was “a movement to overturn these restrictions that gained swift momentum during the 2004 presidential campaign, and pending legal and legislative measures promise to keep the issue in the headlines in the months to come” (Feser).

The criminal justice system the aggregate of all operating and administrative or technical support agencies that perform the criminal justice act of law enforcement, courts, and corrections. The criminal justice system shares its values of corruption and the innocents of people. Whether called mass incarceration or mass imprisonment these are reasons why U.S citizens have to over pay taxes because our money is going towards prisons to help stable the system and inmate’s populations is increasing because people are getting blamed for minor things for being a different race. Race plays a major role in the criminal justice system because people that are religions and have a different skin color, is more likely to be sentenced longer then what

It is obvious that there are several race disparities within the criminal justice system. For decades minorities (black Americans to be specific) have been subject to higher drug related arrest rates than whites, even though there is no evidence to show that black American use or sell drugs more than whites (Spohn & Belenko, 2015, p. 143) . You made a great point about the prison race population versus the overall race population of the United States. I too agree that since a majority of the population is white, majority of the prison population should be white. However, as we all know, that is not the case. According to research, black Americans constitute for roughly twelve percent of the American population, however practically

I feel like the racial disparities produced in the criminal justice system has always been the same, unfair and discriminate towards a certain group of people. We(americans) are still stuck on the old ways of inequality of race. People with brown skin aren't equal to those that are white, at least in the criminal punishment part of it. And I think prejudice has a lot to do with it. I feel like when people look at blacks, mexicans, and other colored races, they assume they're just another criminal and don't deserve the same rights as whites. Law enforcement, especially recently, have just assumed the worst in a person of color and treat them like animals. They immediately arrest or kill just because it's easier to do than giving them a voice

Less is known about the extent of discrimination at the arrest stage, in part because underlying rates of criminal activity by race cannot be easily assessed. Some evidence comes from comparing the race distribution of offenders derived from victims’ surveys with the racial composition of individuals arrested for the same crime. Two studies have found that these distributions are roughly comparable for many violent crimes.

Chapter 4 in The Color of Justice: Race, ethnicity, and crime in America, was about the relations between society and law enforcement officers. This has been a major topic, especially in the United States for a long time. The unfortunate statistic that minorities are more likely to encounter being killed, arrested, and victimized by excessive physical force; has been a real issue even in today’s society. However, police departments are trying to combat the way police officers interact with the community; especially those of color. Although steps have been takes there are still some instances where police aggression happens. With all of the issues that arise between certain minority populated community’s police it is evident that conflict

The existence of racial disparity and structural inequality within the criminal justice system renders the concept of true justice for all unobtainable. The statistics of convictions and prison sentences by race definitely support the concept that discrimination is a problem in the justice system as well as the insignificantly number of minority judges and lawyers. There are a multitude of circumstances that influence these statistics according to the “Central Eight” criminogenic risk factors. The need for programs and methods to effectively deter those at risk individuals has never been greater and the lack of such programs is costing society in countless ways.

“The system is not fair. Institutional racism is alive and well in the juvenile justice system as it is in the criminal justice system, due to racial disparity and bias in the court room” (Jones, Bridgett). This is a statement that plagues many people involved in the justice systems. There are huge racial disparities throughout the world. Post-Slavery: the early development of the Race/Crime Connection, Profiling: Racializing possible cause, and differential bias involvement as well as institutional racism. We can work on having better policies and procedures driven into police practices and we need to make sure people of color are not excluded from juries to stop most of the disparity.

Felons are people who have been convicted of a felony. Felony is a crime, typically one involving violence, regarded as more serious than a misdemeanor, and usually punishable by imprisonment for more than one year or by death. In Maine and Vermont, felons never lose their right to vote, even while they are incarcerated. Vermont’s 1793 Constitution stipulates that residents can lose their right to vote only if convicted of voter fraud. In Florida, Lowa and Virginia, felons and ex-felons permanently lose their right to vote. Eleven states restrict voting even after a person has completed their prison sentence and finished probation or parole. Twenty states require completion of parole and probation before voting is allowed, and fourteen states allow felons to vote after they leave prison. In 1789, Kentucky became the first U.S. state to ban convicted criminals from voting. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said that felon disenfranchisement is a violation of the Voting Rights Act in her May 4, 2006 dissenting opinion in Hayden v. Pataki. Ex-felons should be able to vote because they served their punishment and now they are out so they probably did not do anything serious like first-degree felony: murder, rape, kidnapping, arson, fraud. Second-degree felony: aggravated assault, felony assault, arson, manslaughter, possession of a controlled substance, child molestation.

The racial disparities in the criminal justice system are complex and thus require a multifaceted solution that works to minimize the numerous elements that contribute to the disparity. Massachusetts is working to confront these factors by changing laws regarding mandatory minimums, school zone drug laws, and the use of diversion programs and juvenile justice changes. The Massachusetts State Legislature’s passage of a Criminal Justice Reform Bill reflects a dedication to addressing the racial discrepancies in the criminal justice system, as well as a shifting view of drug users and drug crimes. However, elements of the legislation, such as an emphasis on opioids and the harsher penalties for dealing still indicate a potential favoritism towards white individuals, and specifically, white drug offenders.

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.

With so many news stories and incidents surrounding the topic of race and the police these days, it is not surprising for people to come to the conclusion that racism may exist within the criminal justice system. We will be taking a deeper look into the problem to find out what other possible determinants may play a role in deciding how an officer makes an arrest or stop and continue to analyze what is happening in those contexts. The issues surrounding the topic of race is like the two faces of the same coin as there are usually two sides that we have to consider: reality and media portrayals. The reality side of situations is always there at the time, but it is so subtly hidden from society that nobody understands it unless they witness it firsthand and with the media spreading filtered information, it becomes even harder for us to identify the key issue; this is especially the case when dealing with the police and racial profiling. If you turn on the news and flip to a channel where it is reporting on the police and their arrests, you will most likely see more arrests pertaining to minorities than other ethnicities. In the news, we can often see a misrepresentation of ethnic minorities, usually African-Americans, being arrested when compared to others and this has caused problems around societies countless times. For this essay topic, I will be discussing the different issues surrounding race within the parameters of criminal justice and inequality; furthermore I will be

family income for whites is 38,909 and for blacks it is 21,161. This shows that

However, in discovering highly rated various research we’ve as researches have come across an article that has fourteen possible examples of racism in the criminal justice field. First, the United States created a harder punishment system which has created an upsurge of inmates in prisons and jails due to the upholding of drug wars. According to the Human Rights Watch in 2008, Caucasians and African American are similar in offenses that drug related such as sales and possessions. Secondly, this has to do with getting pulled over and its results of various rates of Latinos and African American compared to Caucasians. This study happened to be taken place in California and New York City and it is displayed that these racial groups were three times more likely to be pulled over by an officer in the comparison to Caucasians individuals.

Although saying the criminal justice system is racist is a controversial statement, there is evidence and statistics that prove it to be true. Research and evidence validate the issue of racism to be undeniable. Equality and justice are out of reach with the racism that takes place in our criminal justice system and our country. Racial discrimination is prevalent amongst the African American culture in issues regarding drug use, and incarceration which creates unfair inequality for this race. I will use peer reviewed articles to verify the racial disparity in the criminal justice system.