Racial Disparities In Prisons

Racial Disparities among Prisons Through time, discrimination has always been part of American history. Unfortunately, discrimination still plays an important role in today’s society. Discrimination is most evident in the way minorities are targeted and treated before and after entering the criminal justice system. The way the government has targeted African Americans, the reasons that have led to overrepresentation on minorities in the criminal justice system, the percent of African Americans incarcerated in relation to their population, the way white collar crime is less targeted than drugs, the way Hispanics are treated differently in jails, and last the way California prisons practice unwritten racial practices will be discussed to explained …show more content…
If the real commitment of the war on drugs was to eliminate the consumption and distribution of drugs as much as possible, then all drugs would carry the same punishment. However, the government seems to primarily focus on drugs which are linked to minority and poor communities. Although it is not established in any paper work or guideline, the way the government combats war gives the impression that the only bad drugs are the ones that minorities use. However, the government does not focus on drugs that white individuals or Asians use. It is clear that race has a big impact on the war on drugs. Therefore, African Americans have been overrepresented in the criminal justice system.
Besides the war on drugs, the following factors play an important role explaining the overrepresentation of minority groups in the criminal justice system. One of the factors that seem to play an important role in court is when crimes are committed in urban counties (MacDonald, J. , Arkes, J. , Nicosia, N. , & Pacula, R., 2014, pg. 159). Although this data alone does not appear relevant, it does when “Blacks are more likely to live in urban counties, where courts may be less sympathetic to mistakes …show more content…
In Johnson vs. California the U.S. Supreme Court said that the lower courts had to review the case, but California had to show how their unwritten practice was for government interest; this case was about California prisons separating inmates on bases of race(Goodman, 2008, pg.735 ). Also, it has been known that those who enter the criminal justice system, they must only choose one race which will determine in what cell they are placed(Goodman, 2008, pg.750). By prison using this system, they reinforce the belief that minorities in prisons receive a special treatment. Unfortunately for the minority groups, these treatments do not favor