Racial Disparities Regarding Sentencing Essay

The most plausible reason for racial disparities regarding sentencing is that minorities “are more likely to be subject to facially neutral laws and policies that prescribe more severe sentences or sentence enhancements” (Walker, Spohn and Delone 2012:286). For example, police patrols in a minority-housing complex on one shift disregard anyone with a joint or two when they search an individual. Occasionally they may write a summons to court therefore the residents get comfortable that they have that leeway. Then as the next shift arrives, after leaving a domestic disturbance where they had a standoff with a suspect. Even though they may have diffused a potentially dangerous situation, they arrive supercharged with adrenaline, angry, and in a status of hypervigilance. The first encounter with a resident they search and find a joint, the resident thinks I’m ok but he is toted off to the local jail. …show more content…
The officer goes home to his family and the minority member just entered the criminal justice system. Therefore, when he goes to court depending on the judge’s decision, court fees and fines will be levied against him and he is now in the web to always fight to stay out of jail. Because he was arrested, his job fired him because he missed the day at work and the company lost a good customer because they got upset because they too took the day off work and hired another company. As the debt creeps in on his family, he resorts to petty theft to support his family, his fines, and his court costs. That one officers decision may have just led this man to a lifetime of incarceration. This example reflects a direct impact from one bureaucrat as well as indirect impact on the judge is charged with making a decision because the case was brought to his