Racial Inequality In The Justice System Essay

Brilliant Essays
Register to read the introduction… I have shown that due to the fact of skin color, one is more likely to be pulled over and serve a longer sentence than that of a non-Hispanic White man. I have shown there is inequality structured within the structure. I have broken it down into three separate races describing what they are most convicted for, how long they are sentenced, and how long they serve their sentence.
Racial inequality does exist. This inequality stems from the time of slavery when diversity was not accepted. With immigration and integration, we are a more diverse society. With this diversity we are exposed to cultures and traditions that would not once be they way we thought. Also because of the way the diversity was established and slavery was abolished, many people still believe in keeping other races down and still do not accept others for who they are based on their skin color, thus leading to racial
…show more content…
S., & Weidner, R. R. Criminal justice system - structural and theoretical components of criminal justice systems, the systems in operation, the importance of viewing criminal justice as a system. Retrieved January 25, 2011, from Retrieved from http://law.jrank.org/pages/858/Criminal-Justice-System.html
Greenfeld, L. J. (1995, April 1). Prison sentence and time served for violence (pp. 1-3). Retrieved January 25, 2011, from Retrieved from http://bjs.ojp.usdo.gov/
Hensley, J. (2009, July 7). Hispanic males are now majority in county jails. Retrieved January 25, 2011, from The Arizona Republic: Retrieved from http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/07/07/20090707jailpopshift0707.htm
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, L. C. E. F. (2011). Justice on trial. in racial disparities in the American justice system. Retrieved from http://www.civilrights.org: Retrieved January 28, 2011.
MacDonald, H. (2010, May 14). Distorting the truth about crime and race. City Journal, 21(1). Retrieved January 25, 2011, from Retrieved from http://www.city-journal.org/2010/eon0514hm.html
Olson, D. P. D. (2000, May 1). Prison sentences for drug offenses. Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority: Trends and Issues, 1(10), 1-4. Retrieved January 25, 2011, from Retrieved from

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Also, there is an extended history in the United States between people of color and police brutality (Martensen, Pg.219). This causes friction between the people in these communities and the law enforcement and provides a ‘social distance’(Martense, pg. 219). There is a lack of trust between the people in these disadvantaged communities and the law enforcement which leads to them being less likely to go to the police when something occurs and also are hesitant to cooperate with them (Martense, pg. 219). For these, and some other reasons, came about the “don 't snitch norm”, which criminalizes the whole community (Crutchfield, Weeks, pg.47). Without the law enforcement and other governmental agencies on these disadvantaged communities side, this leads to ‘social disorganization” which leads to a lack of a sense of togetherness within the community and networks needed in order to fight the oppression the community faces (Martensen, pg 219).…

    • 1562 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The issue of race in the criminal justice system is a book written by Richey Mann, and published by University Press. This books is an excellent source on displaying the racial disparities within the criminal justice system does indeed exist. Riahey Mann, explores the works of William Wilbanks, who challenges the theories that has been traditionally used to explain the relationship of race along with both criminality and decisions made by criminal justice agents. Wilbanks, Cites the work from the National Minority Advisory Council, which has a representation to looking at a different perspective when it comes to the study of race and…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Angela Davis’s speeches in the Meaning of Freedom depict the rise of the prison-industrial complex in the United States. The prison-industrial complex is the collection of the criminal justice system, police officers, judges, and every actor participating in the process of incarcerating individuals. Two explanations Davis provides for the rise are the public fear of crime perpetrated by the media that leads to racist policies and the relationship of globalization and prisons. Intertwined throughout her arguments is the impact of the war on drugs which is the federal government’s campaign on the prohibition of drugs. When we analyze Davis’s arguments alongside Michelle Alexander who argues that the war on drugs is the cause of the rise and Julia…

    • 1980 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America. Belmont: Wadsworth Pub., 1996. Print. Some people may argue against the Criminal Justice System being racist, some may agree with it. These authors stand middle ground but decided the system does stray towards people of color on certain occasions.…

    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    African American males are the prime focus of incarceration with African American women not being far behind (). This book illustrated racial inequalities in several venues that Americans engage in daily. It unveils the disproportion of the system by exposing statistical facts of arrest rates, sentencing and incarcerations. African Americans are and have been beaten, broken and deemed unworthy ie second class citizens.…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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
  • Improved Essays

    Historically, America has been predisposed towards racism against African-Americans. However, Americans, for the past century, have effectively ignored the issues with race that the American society still faces in the criminal justice system. In his TED Talk entitled “We need to talk about an injustice,” Bryan Stevenson addresses the issues with the American criminal justice system by detailing the problems and showing the important role the citizens of American can play. Although the topic is a serious one, Stevenson discusses the issues with elegance and carefulness and is able to effectively persuade his audience. Before delving into the information that Stevenson provides in his speech, it is essential to evaluate the setting that Stevenson…

    • 940 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Though open discrimination has lessened in the criminal justice system over time, currently we continue to fight unfairness in the justice system. There are still racial and ethnic disparities that persist in the criminal justice world in the United States. Thanks to the work of W.E.B. Dubois on race and criminality, researchers have made great strides in figuring the causes and consequences of racial/ethical disparities in criminal justice…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Racial disparities in the criminal justice system threaten communities of color. With thousands being denied equal access to employment, limited voting rights, unaffordable housing, public benefits, and education. African American are deemed as criminals such that the law enforcers are always keen to arrest them. It is shocking to realize that some African American go to prison for crimes they didn’t participate in, simply because white man was involved. Hattery & Smith (2014) found on an average, over a million African American men are imprisoned, and many more are in prison or under some sort of supervision from the criminal justice system.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Topic/Observation Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System Racial differences in criminal involvement and racial patterns in the United States criminal justice system have been important topics since the beginning of American criminology (Crutchfield, Fernandes & Martinez, 2010). For hundreds of years, Black people, particularly black males, have been negatively stereotyped as being aggressive, violent, and being prone to participate in criminal activity more so than their white male counterparts. From the days of slavery to the present, Black people have been concerned that they will never be treated fairly by whites who are placed in a position of authority. This mindset is fueled by the disproportionate number of unarmed…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Racial Disparities in the U.S. Criminal Justice System African American men are facing hard factors when it comes to law enforcement. Police officers and black male relationships have reached their peak of who is more afraid of the other. Racial disparities have been found in the criminal justice system and to this day are still widespread in pretrial incarceration, stop and frisk, charging, jury selection, arrests, court processing, probation, and incarceration in prison and jails.…

    • 1575 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Racial Disparity In Criminal Justice Essay

    • 1737 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 5 Works Cited

    There can be differential involvement, individual racism, and/or institutional racism. First and foremost African-Americans and Hispanics are differentially involved in crimes and they tend to commit more crimes. Their criminality is tied to the fact that these groups more often suffer from poverty and unemployment. Second, some of the disparities are due to the individual opinions or prejudices of individual police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, probation officers, parole officers, and parole board members. This individual racism consists of prejudicial beliefs and the discriminatory behavior of individual criminal justice authorities against African Americans and other minority group members.…

    • 1737 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 5 Works Cited
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Labeling theorists and deterrence theorists both have a particular view with their theories when it comes to criminal punishment. To understand those views it is essential to first understand both the labeling and the deterrence theory. Labeling theory looks into labels that are placed on individuals based off of certain characteristics or attributions that they posses. This can be seen as a form of control to weaken another by giving them a particular label. With this being stated labeling theory can be associated with social control as labeling another individual can be viewed as a social control.…

    • 1522 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    . “America incarcerates more people than any other country on Earth,” argues Shane Smith. Seventy-five percent of people arrested for nonviolent drug charges are blacks and Hispanics. For minorities the system is broken because the system is biased to them. The justice system is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, but for Latinos and blacks the system is guilty until proven innocent.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN TODAY’S SOCIETY Racial discrimination is one the provocative problems we have in our society today. Significant amount of people in our society today focus on all different racial groups of people and discuss their fairness, discrimination, and prejudice. The United States of America that is known to be one of the most diverse and freest racist countries in the world.…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays