Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System The purpose for creation of legal systems in the world is to pursue justice. Pursuance of justice re

1120 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Racial discrimination within the U.S. criminal justice system

The purpose for creation of legal systems in the world is to pursue justice. Pursuance of justice requires fair application of the law. Therefore, the events unfolding in the United States undermine this principle. The Justice Integrity Bill is meant to increase public confidence in the justice system and address any unwarranted racial and ethnic disparities in the criminal process that has raised eyebrows over the years. This bill purports to enforce fair application of the law in order to realize justice for all; both black and white.
Reports have it that court processes are biased always to the detriment of the blacks. This is a clear indication of a clear racial disparity. Many are the times when blacks have had to bear the brute of harsh sentences simply because they are black. In addition, court processes are said to be prolonged thus delaying justice to the defendants, some of whom may be innocent. It is said that the root cause of racial disparities is the ‘war’ against drugs. However, monthly drug consumption in the US shows that African Americans constitute 14% of the drug users compared to white Americans staggering 69.2%.*(http://criminaljustice.ncbar.org/newsletters/criminaljusticefeb11/racialdisparities) In contrast, African Americans who use drugs have a higher incidence to be arrested and tried than any other group. In fact, it is surprising to note that though African Americans constitute 14% of the nation’s population, they as well constitute 37% of drug related offences.
Notwithstanding the humble African American population, the state of Northern Carolina reported 46% misdemeanour convictions and 53% felony convicts to be African Americans in the 2008-2009 fiscal year*(http://criminaljustice.ncbar.org/newsl...

... middle of paper ...

...chieve justice.
The Justice Integrity bill is designed to establish a process whereby any unwarranted disparities in federal prosecution can be analyzed and responded to when appropriate. Under the proposed bill, the Attorney General would designate ten U.S. attorney offices as sites in which to set up task forces composed of representatives of the criminal justice system and the community. The task forces main function would be analyzing and reviewing on prosecutorial practices and to develop initiatives designed to promote the twin goals of maintaining public safety and reducing disparity. Such a process would clearly be applicable to state justice systems as well.

Works Cited

Cessare Beccario, treatise on crimes and punishment
Du Bois ‘The Negro and crime’
Brown V Board Of Education of Topeka (1954)
Criminal Justice Policy Review XX(X, Shaun L. Gabbidon et al

Show More
Related

  • Ethnic Overrepresented In The Criminal Justice System Case Study

    1429 Words  | 3 Pages

    In many nation states, it is noticed that there is a disproportionate number of black people especially those youngsters going through the criminal justice system. The overrepresentation is illustrated by related data released by the U.S. Department of Justice and the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee. In America, almost 3500 per 100,000 residents of the black male were sent to jail in 2013 which was over seven times more than the ratio their white counterpart had and in England and Wales, 8.5% of young black people aged between 10-17 were arrested during the same period .This essay aims to explore the reasons behind the ethnic overrepresentation in the criminal justice system and believes that the higher rate of offending for some race groups and the existence of systematic racist which partially stems from the contemporary media distortion are attributive to the overrepresentation.

    Read More

  • The House I Live Documentary Analysis

    874 Words  | 2 Pages

    Human rights experts have reported that in the 70s, African Americans in the U.S were already being overrepresented in drug arrests, with twice as many arrests as Caucasians (Fellner, 2009). Since the war on drugs began, African

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Disparities In Criminal Justice

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    For a majority of the 20th century, sentencing policies had a minimal effect on social inequality (Western and Pettit 2002). In the early 1970s, this began to change when stricter sentencing policies were enacted (Western and Pettit 2002). Sentencing laws such as determinate sentencing, truth-in-sentencing, mandatory minimum sentencing, and three-strikes laws were enacted with the purpose of achieving greater consistency, certainty, and severity in sentencing (National Research Council 2014). Numerous inequalities involving race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status have generated an unprecedented rate of incarceration in America, especially among minority populations (Western and Pettit 2010). With numerous social inequalities currently

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Rich Get Richer And The Poor Get Prison

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    The majority of our prison population is made up of African Americans of low social and economic classes, who come from low income houses and have low levels of education. The chapter also discusses the amount of money the United States loses yearly due to white collar crime as compared to the cost of violent crime. Another main point was the factors that make it more likely for a poor person to be incarcerated, such as the difficulty they would have in accessing adequate legal counsel and their inability to pay bail. This chapter addresses the inequality of sentencing in regards to race, it supplies us with NCVS data that shows less than one-fourth of assailants are perceived as black even though they are arrested at a much higher rate. In addition to African Americans being more likely to be charged with a crime, they are also more likely to receive harsher punishments for the same crimes- which can be seen in the crack/cocaine disparities. These harsher punishments are also shown in the higher rates of African Americans sentenced to

    Read More

  • Racial Disparity in the Correctional Population

    2356 Words  | 5 Pages

    Retrieved April 12, 2005, from Civilrights.org Web site: http://www.civilrights.org/publications/reports/cj/. Kansal, T. (2005). The 'Secondary'. In M. Mauer (Ed. Racial disparity in sentencing: A review of the literature.

    Read More

  • Letter From Birmingham Jail Analysis

    1120 Words  | 3 Pages

    stated his hope that "the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities" (King 980-981). Unfortunately, upon analysis of the drug war, it is found that those dark clouds remain suspended above America,and that fog is as blinding as ever. Research into drug usage and selling has found that "drug use and selling are comparable across racial lines" (DPA). In light of this fact, it logically follows that arrest rates would be fairly even across racial lines, however, this is not the case. In fact, "African Americans represent 12% of the total population of drug users, but 38% of those arrested for drug offenses, and 59% of those in state prison for a drug offense" (NAACP). There are many contributing factors that lead to these statistics, but the most prominent among them is the heavy scrutiny of poor, mostly minority neighborhoods. To make matters worse, sentencing for drug crimes also has a high racial discrepancy. According to the Sentencing Project, "African Americans serve virtually as much time in prison for a drug offense (58.7 months) as whites do for a violent offense (61.7 months)"(NAACP). Another example of this is the disparity in sentencing is the comparison of those caught with powder cocaine and those caught with crack cocaine. Despite being essentially the same substance, "federal penalties for

    Read More

  • Disparities In Criminal Justice Essay

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    The criminal justice system is full of inequality and disparities among race, gender, and class. From policing neighborhoods, and the ongoing war on drugs, to sentencing, there are underlying biases and discriminatory practices in the criminal justice system that impacts minority communities and groups. Fueled by stereotypes and generalizations, it is important to identify and discuss what crimes take place and who actually makes it up.

    Read More

  • Racial Disparity In The Criminal Justice System Essay

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    Addressing the cause of these disparities from the grass roots is very crucial. Strategies are needed to tackle the challenge and to combat unjustified disparity, at every level. phase of the criminal justice system, and to do so in a harmonized manner. Without a systematic approach to the issue, gains in one range may be offset by the setback in another. Every decision idea and constituent of the system requires exceptional approaches.

    Read More

  • Racial Inequalities in the Justice System

    1738 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many inequalities exist within the justice system that need to be brought to light and addressed. Statistics show that African American men are arrested more often than females and people of other races. There are some measures that can and need to be taken to reduce the racial disparity in the justice system. Racial disparity in the criminal justice system exists when the proportion of a racial or ethnic group within the control system is higher than the proportion of the group in the general population. The cause of this disparity varies and can include differences in the levels of criminal activity, law enforcements emphasis on particular communities, legislative policies, and/or decision making by one or more persons at some level in the criminal justice system.

    Read More

  • Racialized Mass Incarceration in America

    622 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another reason racialized mass incarceration takes place is because of the high rates of poverty and unemployment for inner city African Americans, especially those with low-education and low skill levels. Urban ghettos have been associated with the problem of social disorganization and crime. The biggest reason for this is the war on drugs. There is no substantial proof that verifies African Americans are more involved in illegal drug consumptions than other groups are. However they are arrested more than other groups. Bobo and Thompson stated that blacks are almost 34% involved in drug-related arrests though only 14% of those are among regular illegal drug users. Among drug related convictions, African Americans make up half of the cases whereas only 26% of the white population is convicted. As Bobo and Thompson stated, “Illegal drug consumption seems to know no race. Incarceration for drug-related charges, however, is something visited in a heavily biased manner on African Americans.”

    Read More

  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    We can conclude with her analyses that the criminal justice in America is biased an even though I don’t agree with the suggestion Alexander has heard from other people that mass incarceration is a “conspiracy to put blacks back in their place” (p.5). It is clear that the justice system in the US is not completely fair, and that collective action must arise to struggle it.

    Read More

  • Causes Of Racial Disparity In Drug Discrimination

    1239 Words  | 3 Pages

    Racial disparity in drug-related convictions has been a widespread problem in the United States since the War on Drugs in the early 1980s. It was prevalent before that time, but minorities became the target of drug-related crimes in startling numbers at this time. There are several hypotheses for this alarming situation, but the bottom line remains that racism is the leading cause of racial disparity in drug-related convictions. Minorities from inner cities, with low-incomes and socioeconomic statuses who get caught in a downward spiral, are the easiest targets for the government to point the finger at for drug problems in the United States. The statistics show that while more White people use illicit drugs in the United States, more African Americans and other minorities will be convicted, and more harshly than their White counterparts, for the same crimes.

    Read More

  • Racial Disparities In Sentencing

    1536 Words  | 4 Pages

    This research essay discusses racial disparities in the sentencing policies and process, which is one of the major factors contributing to the current overrepresentation of minorities in the judicial system, further threatening the African American and Latino communities. This is also evident from the fact that Blacks are almost 7 times more likely to be incarcerated than are Whites (Kartz, 2000). The argument presented in the essay is that how the laws that have been established for sentencing tend to target the people of color more and therefore their chances of ending up on prison are higher than the whites. The essay further goes on to talk about the judges and the prosecutors who due to different factors, tend to make their decisions

    Read More

  • Equality In Criminal Justice

    1573 Words  | 4 Pages

    The United States criminal justice system is an ever-changing system that is based on the opinions and ideas of the public. Many of the policies today were established in direct response to polarizing events and generational shifts in ideology. In order to maintain public safety and punish those who break these laws, law enforcement officers arrest offenders and a judge or a group of the law offender’s peers judge their innocence. If found guilty, these individuals are sentenced for a predetermined amount of time in prison and are eventually, evaluated for early release through probation. While on probation, the individual is reintegrated into their community, with restrict limitations that are established for safety. In theory, this system

    Read More

  • Juvenile Justice System

    950 Words  | 2 Pages

    We live in a nation that is based upon the notion of “the land of the free”, and “justice for all”, however, this is far from true. These basic principles that our nation was founded upon have proven themselves to be invalid over the course of history and even in today's society. In our nation, the fight for justice and equality is an ongoing battle, which is why we designed the criminal justice system: as a means to fight this inequality. This system was put forth in order to ensure the justice, order, and safety of our citizens. However, this system, that was designed to serve and protect us was re-established in the year of 1899 during the progressive era. This system became known as juvenile justice and soon altered the definition of justice.

    Read More

More about Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System The purpose for creation of legal systems in the world is to pursue justice. Pursuance of justice re

Open Document