Home Page
Race Poverty And Punishment Summary

Race Poverty And Punishment Summary

Decent Essays

Show More

The interconnection of social problems impacts the worth of life. The link between poverty and crime is obvious because socioeconomic status of individuals affects their enthusiasm and actions. Racial inequality is closely connected with a number of social problems, including poverty and crime. The article “Race, poverty and punishment: The impact of criminal sanctions on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequality” by Darren Wheelock and Christopher Uggen discusses the impact of criminal sanctions on racial and gender inequality. As Wheelock and Uggen (2006) point out, “the association between crime, punishment, and poverty has long been the subject of sociological and criminological investigation”(p. 1). In fact, this issue is of great importance

Related Documents

Improved Essays
Katherine Beckett's Making Crime Pay
- 1008 Words
- 4 Pages
Katherine Beckett's Making Crime Pay

Katherine Beckett’s book Making Crime Pay challenges the dominant view that the increase in incarceration, particularly of young Black men, seen throughout the last 30 plus years has been due to a response to public concern about crime, changing demographics, and an increase in violent crime that needed to be fixed. Instead, Beckett forces us to examine the discursive and political nature of the decisions that led to tough on crime policies and in effect mass incarceration. As she summarizes, “The notion that the desire for punishment is ubiquitous and unequivocal ignores the complexity of cultural attitudes and the situation and political factors that shape their expression.” Beckett examines the important role that race played in this process, particularly in the discourse surrounding law and order.…
- 1008 Words
- 4 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
Jeffrey Reiman's The Rich Get Richer And The Poor Get Prison
- 1028 Words
- 4 Pages
Jeffrey Reiman's The Rich Get Richer And The Poor Get Prison

Studies show that the United States of America has become the country with the highest crime rate throughout the world. In many instances in our country, wealthy criminals or those that commit crimes who belong to the upper class society tend to be overlooked or exempt from being punished for their crimes. However, this isn’t the case for the poorer end of the spectrum, when it comes to those less fortunate the criminal justice system tend to deem them as less adequate and their punishments usually end with jail or imprisonment. In Jeffrey Reiman’s The Rich get Richer and the Poor get Prison, he argues that the best way to understand the policies that are correlated with our criminal justice system, we must look at the Pyrrhic Defeat Model.…
- 1028 Words
- 4 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
Inequality In Prison Literature Review
- 1083 Words
- 5 Pages
Inequality In Prison Literature Review

Introduction Social control is defined as “mechanisms that ensure conformity” (Eitzen, 107) while deviance is defined as “any behavior that does not conform to social expectations” (Eitzen, 130). These two words play a huge role in the U.S. Prison system considering a vast majority of inmates and ex-inmates are those who were or still are unable to conform to the current time’s norms, values, and laws. It is important to sociologists and those who run prison systems to consider social control and deviance to examine if there is anything we can do as a society to prevent others from straying off course and becoming labeled as a deviant. Literature Review…
- 1083 Words
- 5 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Great Essays
How It Became A Crime To Be Poor In America Analysis
- 1402 Words
- 6 Pages
How It Became A Crime To Be Poor In America Analysis

In his article “How It Became a Crime to be Poor in America”, by Dr. Peter Edelman focuses on what is arguably a serious problem plaguing America’s poor; chronic, unjustified persecution, criminalization and incarceration. The issue of poverty and crime have, seemingly, gone hand in hand for millennia. A critical question arises then, as to whether one creates the other, or if there has been a conscious, orchestrated effort by the criminal justice system to perpetuate this circumstance. Unless all aspects of an issue are considered, a reasonable conclusion cannot be reached.…
- 1402 Words
- 6 Pages
Great Essays

Read More
Superior Essays
Cartwright's Differential Association Theory
- 1213 Words
- 5 Pages
Cartwright's Differential Association Theory

H., Cressey, D. R., Sykes, G. M., Matza, D., and Benson, M. L., as well as edits by Cartwright, B., differential association theory, techniques of neutralization, white-collar criminality are discussed, and in this paper, their development will be connected.   Edward Sutherland’s 1940 article “White-Collar Criminality” analyzed both upper class criminality (white-collar) and lower class criminality in order to advance theories of criminal behaviour. He pointed out, that even though white-collar criminals usually receive a lot of attention from the media, they still manage to stay out of prison, and the cost of all street crime combined was many times less than the cost of white-collar crime regardless (Cartwright, 2011, p.161). He also notes that theories of criminal behaviour are mainly preoccupied in the lower class and that previous theories are “misleading and incorrect” because upper-class criminal behaviour is usually ignored (Sutherland, 1940, p.1-2). Sutherland (1940, p.9-10) explains that the generalizations of criminal or delinquent behaviour were “based on a bias sample” and that because white-collar criminals exist, criminal behaviour cannot be “closely associated with poverty.”…
- 1213 Words
- 5 Pages
Superior Essays

Read More
Great Essays
Analysis Of The Rich Get Richer And The Poor Get Prison
- 1913 Words
- 8 Pages
Analysis Of The Rich Get Richer And The Poor Get Prison

Kelsee Kessel 12/1/16 “ The rich get richer and the Poor get prison. “ The book “ The rich get richer and the poor get prison “ by Jeffrey Reiman and Paul Leighton is an attempt to give the reader a look into the criminal justice system that the media and American government doesn’t. It highlights the bias of criminal charges against the poor as opposed to the well off and claims that from even before the process of arrest, trial, and sentencing, the system is biased against the poor. Whether that be in what it choosen to be treated as crime, who is conviced , length of sentencing or ignoring the numerous criminal acts of the rich. It also claims that there isn’t enough compassion or attention for the reasons for crime in poverty stricken neighborhoods but rather these people are looked down upon.…
- 1913 Words
- 8 Pages
Great Essays

Read More
Great Essays
Arguments Against Tough Sentencing Laws
- 1674 Words
- 7 Pages
Arguments Against Tough Sentencing Laws

An escape from the tyranny of an oppressive king was the cornerstone of the the founding fathers drafting of the Constitution. All men are created equal and in turn should be afforded equal justice. However, legislation from both the federal and state governments could threaten that very premise. Three strikes sentencing laws seek to break a cycle of recidivism from career criminals, but ensnare minorities and the poor at a disproportionate rate when compared to those not in need and whites in the United States. In order to understand the how these laws affect minorities and the poor it is important to first understand the history behind why governments pass such harsh sentencing laws.…
- 1674 Words
- 7 Pages
Great Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
Sentencing Changes In Prison
- 471 Words
- 2 Pages
Sentencing Changes In Prison

More than two-thirds of the individuals who are in prison are racial and ethnic minorities, and for African American males in their twenties, one in every eight is in prison or jail on any give day (Sentencing). An African American male born today has a one in three chance of being incarcerated during his lifetime, compared to a one in seventeen chance for white males (Sentencing). These trends have been exacerbated by the impact of the “war on drugs,” with roughly three-fourths of all drug offenders being persons of “color,” which is vastly out of proportion to their share of drug users in society (Sentencing). Racial disparity in the criminal justice system is a product of higher rates of involvement in some offenses, social and economic disparities, legislative policies, and the use of discretion by criminal justice decision-makers…
- 471 Words
- 2 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
Inequalities Between White And Black Citizens
- 1614 Words
- 7 Pages
Inequalities Between White And Black Citizens

However, the system’s envisioned idea of racial neutrality has not been—and cannot, at this point in time be—achieved. There are four key aspects of the inequalities experienced between black and white people: 1) most race-neutral policies have disparate effects on black people, 2) practitioners of the criminal justice system are often unintentionally influenced by racial biases, 3) certain segments of the system are underfunded, and 4) some policies intensify socioeconomic inequalities (Ghandnoosh 3-4). As previously discussed in this essay, there already exist broader, societal disparities between white and black citizens, and these pre-existing discrepancies help contribute to the inequalities found within the justice system. For instance, black people are already significantly more likely than white people to be in poverty, so underfunded programs within the system won’t benefit black people as often as they’ll benefit white people. Additionally, policies that require heavy fines, parole, or other restrictive punishments will disproportionately affect black people.…
- 1614 Words
- 7 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
Disparity In The Criminal Justice System
- 390 Words
- 2 Pages
Disparity In The Criminal Justice System

generally poor black neighborhoods), as the apparatus of crime. In this sense, crime emanates from the poor, and so helps to perpetuate hostility towards the poor, as such. As a result, draconian policing policies (e.g., “zero tolerance,” “get tough on crime”, and the War on Drugs) that target the poor perpetuates formal social control (i.e. prison). Impoverished minorities, disproportionately black and Latino, therefore, are convicted and funneled into state prisons ten times more than their white counterparts; although, whites are six times more likely to use and sell drugs, half of inmates charged with drug offenses are black (R. Sheldon, 87). Upon their release are socially ostracized, subsequent to a second-class life of continuous legal discrimination, and yet, most return to prison because of a “revolving door” that cycles these under-castes in and out of correctional control; the majority are rearrested for property and drug offenses because of strict punitive laws; and selective enforcement and heavy parole supervision ensures two-thirds of parolees return to prison.…
- 390 Words
- 2 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Superior Essays
Punishment And Inequality In America Summary
- 1296 Words
- 6 Pages
Punishment And Inequality In America Summary

Punishment and Inequality in America by Bruce Western a former Sociology Professor at Princeton University goes into great detail on the evolution of punishment in America and its overall affects. He expands on one of the most controversial topics in America the American penal system; and how it went from a rehabilitative, self-reflecting tool in the early 19th century to a deterrent and strict form of punishment in the mid 20th century. Western also touches base on racial inequality in regards to imprisonment in the United States and the overall effect it has on one group of people. Western begins his book with a brief history of American penitentiaries, naming two famous institutions, Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia and Auburn State Prison in upstate New York.…
- 1296 Words
- 6 Pages
Superior Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
The Punishment Imperative Analysis
- 1005 Words
- 4 Pages
The Punishment Imperative Analysis

Throughout the semester, we have repeatedly discussed statistics regarding current crime and incarceration rates. In comparison to previous rates, from earlier decades, it is clear that society’s viewpoint on crime has changed significantly. Beginning in the early 1970s, the United States initiated a more punitive criminal justice system (1). In The Punishment Imperative, authors Todd R. Clear and Natasha A. Frost created a concept for the reasoning behind this mass incarceration. Referred to as the “Punishment Imperative,” its basis for reasoning focused on the symbolic image that crime held in society; meaning, as crime rates grew, the societal fear for basic safety began to emerge.…
- 1005 Words
- 4 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Superior Essays
Racism In The Criminal Justice System
- 1811 Words
- 7 Pages
Racism In The Criminal Justice System

Sentencing in the criminal justice system shows how racism operates. Skin color makes a huge difference. African Americans disproportionately receive more mandatory sentences compared to whites and the death penalty. “On average, black men spent almost 20 per cent more time in prison between December 2007 and September 2011. In addition, white men were more likely to serve sentences below the sentencing guidelines while black men were 25 percent less likely, according to the commission”(Duke).…
- 1811 Words
- 7 Pages
Superior Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
Essay On Criminal Justice Inequality
- 1287 Words
- 6 Pages
Essay On Criminal Justice Inequality

"The clock has been turned back on racial progress in America, though scarcely anyone seems to notice." (Alexander 2012: 180) Criminal justice inequality has a toll on every possible chance given throughout future lives. The chances of getting a home and having a family may vary. Most importantly criminal justice affects the amount of wealth someone can accumulate to achieve these future goals. It is a scary thought to think that young black men being trapped in the criminal justice system has just become a "norm" in society.…
- 1287 Words
- 6 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More
Improved Essays
How Does Socialization Affect Crime
- 825 Words
- 4 Pages
How Does Socialization Affect Crime

When society looks at crime offenders, most people assume that the offenders are breaking the law because they come from a broken home, are of non-white ethnic background, live in poverty and belong to a gang. While some of these are true, others are not. Why do people commit crimes in the first place, what makes them think that is ok behavior or is this even preventable behavior that society can stop? These are great questions, which makes this essay take a closer look at how the influence of socialization can affect crime. Could it be that anybody is prone to crime, and could improper socialization have anything to do with the crime itself.…
- 825 Words
- 4 Pages
Improved Essays

Read More

Related Topics