Preview

Essay On Racial Disparity In The Criminal Justice System

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1828 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On Racial Disparity In The Criminal Justice System
Racial Disparity In The Criminal Justice System My topic is racial disparity within the criminal justice system. According to “The Sentencing Project” Racial disparity in the criminal justice system exists when the proportion of a racial or ethnic group within the control of the system is greater than the proportion of such groups in the general population .The reason I chose this topic is because I think it is such a undermined problem across the country today. The term racial disparity refers to a difference that might or might not behave anything to do with discrimination. Criminal justice experts tell the difference between legal and extralegal factors to explain racial disparities in criminal justice. Racial disparities is a discrimination, …show more content…
According to “ What It’s Like To Be Black In The Criminal Justice System” a 2014 study showed that African Americans are more likely to be in jail while they await trial even after looking at both the seriousness of the charge and prior convictions. Others suggest that this disparity is due to the fact that a lot of African Americans cannot afford to bail out . One turning point in the criminal justice process, one that can mean all of the difference when it comes to you being locked up or free .Although the choice of where your bail would be set is up to the courts, prosecutors play a key role in deciding on whether a defendant should be set free on bail or or wait in jail until their or release.The temporary time you’re being detained interferes personal life and it more difficult for the defendant to prepare a proper defense according to “What It's Like To Be Black In The Criminal Justice System. Studies in New York found that African Americans are thirteen percent more likely to receive plea deals involving prison time regardless the seriousness of the charge. A separate research in Rhode Island found that African Americans were given longer sentences than comparable

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Best Essays

    A stage-level analysis is the examination of disparities at each different stage in the judicial process. Wooldredge argues that disparate treatment of races during the stages of their case processing may help account for large variation in incarceration between different racial/age demographics. Over 5,000 felony cases from urban areas in Ohio were included in his study. Specifically, Wooldredge analyzed how race’s impact on sentencing changed when controlling for legal and extra-legal factors such as age, sex, employment status (2012). The study found that there was no significant difference in sentencing between African Americans and Caucasians when controlling for the severity of the crime committed. However, Wooldredge argues, that does not mean there is no racial bias in the process as a whole. Disparities in the treatment of minorities’ early stages of their case process could certainly account for differences in sentencing severity and rates. Black males between the ages of 18 and 29 receive much harsher treatment in the pre-trial stages. They are less likely to be released on their own recognizance and their bail is likely to be higher than their white counterparts. The author concludes hypothesizing that the differences in pre-trial treatment of black and white defendants are likely connected to sentencing disparities.…

    • 3561 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Race-based theory plays a major role in predicting substantial and institutionalized discrimination that is always aimed at minorities within the systems of criminal justice. Racial discrimination in the criminal systems is mainly carried out by police, judges in the courts and agencies which carry out corrections in the United States. Evidence of criminal discrimination against African Americans and Hispanics found in the United States highlights some of the discrimination incidences that the minorities go through. Discrimination against minorities is popularly explained as a purpose of little position of their socioeconomic actions rather than indigenous or racial status. There are two race-based conflict theories which address the discrimination…

    • 139 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the United States most people do not see racism in the criminal justice system as a major issue. That’s because the majority of citizens in this country aren’t involved with our criminal justice system, which is a good thing. There are also a lot of people that are involved with our criminal justice system for good and bad reasons. Throughout the history of this country racism has always been a major issue, and still is today on some terms, but if you were to get law enforcement involved, I believe there would be many different opinions. When it comes to racism and any issue people in this country could go on forever with their opinions about who is right and who is wrong. The big question being asked…

    • 1791 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The criminal justice arena is made up of law enforcement, courts, and corrections and is vast as well as it is its own environment when referencing the leading or management of special groups. Numerous components within the criminal justice realm require team cooperation to be successful. In the law enforcement branch organized special groups such as Multi-agency gang and drug tasks forces, SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics), CSI Crime Scene Investigation), and fugitive recovery units made up of cooperative entities…

    • 1729 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    There has been significant debate whether to collect race-based data in law enforcement. In my opinion, I think going forward with this idea would be a dangerous and misconceived part when in relation to solving crimes. It is a large can of worms when it comes to this idea. I suspect it is actually impossible not to collect the statistics, as a person's details will have to be entered into the database when they are arrested. Once the data is there, is it really up to us how we interpret it? Maybe the question should be 'Should we draw any conclusions from race based crime statistics'?…

    • 637 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    There are many key issues impacting minorities and women in the criminal justice system . Sexism still exists in the United States. Sexism against women is shown in the media and indicates that sexism still pervades in our society. Another key issue is the overrepresentation and disparities among minorities in the criminal justice system. After the act of September 11, racial profiling and other acts of racial hate crimes suggests that racism occurs. Another key issue that indicates that racial disparities occur in the criminal justice system is the overrepresentation of minorities in the Juvenile Justice system.…

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Our topic is on police brutality. This has been an ongoing problem in our society for many years now. Many people believe that police officers do use excessive force when patrolling on the streets with civilians. The main social problem for our topic relates to the use of excessive force. Excessive force can cost local communities millions of dollars due to legal damages. Most civilians now do believe that all police officers are bad due to all of the drama that has been occurring throughout these last few years. People believe that the main reason why this excessive force takes place is because of racism. Dudek talked about a situation that took place in Ferguson, MO. He stated, “The killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO,…

    • 2575 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Black On Black Crime Essay

    • 1727 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Black on black violence has been on the rise in the recent years. 1 in 146 black males are at risk of violent death, whereas the ratio for white men is 1 in 189. What do we mean by “Black on Black crime?” It may be described as anytime a Black person inflicts violent harm on another Black person. The effects of this violence in the Black community are tremendous. Violence is very much part of what it means to be Black in America. Another issue in America is putting the wrong people on death row. Most of the time it is just to a guilty verdict so the prosecutor’s family can move on. This is exactly what happened in the case of Walter McMillian who was accused and found guilty of murdering a Ronda Morrison by gunshot. In this passage I will explain some of the black on black violence seen in America, talk about some of the excerpts from Les Payne and Glenn Loury’s argument, and explain McMillians trial…

    • 1727 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Racial disparity in sentencing continues to be a long time culmination in the criminal justice system. The disparity in criminal sentencing is seen when individuals who commit similar or the same criminal act results in acquiring different sentences upon conviction (Jones-Brown, 2002). The paper will take a look at racial disparity in sentencing today, do an examination of reasons for racial disparity in sentencing, and possible solutions to racial disparity in sentencing.…

    • 2143 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is also necessary to determine whether racism in the justice systems has more effects than we could even imagine. There has been a lot of progress, and much is still being done on the history regarding the laws on equality. Factors leading to crime Poverty…

    • 2206 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    To be an equal citizen in a democratic state you must be free from many of the capacities of domination, many of which plague our society today. Racial disparities in the criminal justice system are not in line with a Relational egalitarian way of thinking. At many times racial disparities fuel hierarchy-enhancing legitimizing myths propitiating the inequalities that citizens have comparatively to each other. Relational egalitarians believe that individuals are to be treated equal with respect and value. This theory does not focus on the distribution of material objects and goods but in achieving “a social order in which persons stand in relations of equality” (pg313 Anderson).…

    • 1521 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Diversity plays a very important role in society. Today, there are many people travelling all over the world and rather than being divided, people now-a-days tend to be more integrated. Diversity in the criminal justice system has become more known due to the impact of media being incorporated in every aspect of life. The role of a person’s ethnicity is modeled by the way they behave, their culture and their religious beliefs. Morally, it is right for another person not to only accept another’s race, ethnicity, or religion, it is also encouraged for a person to embrace it. Learning to understand someone for the way they were raised and accepting them for the way they look is a key aspect of integration.…

    • 207 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Over the last 40 years the prison population has increased 600 percent and it has negatively impacted young Black males, especially those living in socially disorganized neighborhoods (Childress, 2014). In 2001, Bonczar (2003) notes that Blacks accounted for nearly seventeen percent of individuals previously or currently incarcerated, which was six times more than White males. Besides having a higher chance of serving a prison term, African American are also likely to be sentenced to longer sentences than White Americans for the same crime. According to Kahn and Kirk (2015), in 2012, Blacks received a federal prison sentence ten times longer than their White counterparts. Bonczar (2003) explains that one in…

    • 392 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dating back some time ago, the African American race was brought into this country for to become slaves and serve the White American race. All of this was established based on the tone of their skin being ugly and seen as being deformed and the white American race were destined to be the superior race overruling African Americans in every aspect giving them basically no rights at all. Although slavery days are long and gone some may say that the White American race still has an upper hand on the African Americans by using the criminal justice system against them. This topic of racial inequality within the criminal justice system of the United States also known as “the land of the free” has become more and more relevant based upon the rising number of arrests and the highly populated penal institution mostly occupied by African Americans. These rising numbers of African Americans in penal institutions have contributed greatly to the stereotype of a young African American male. Most African American males today either has family incarcerated or know someone that is and people on the outside looking automatically thinks that that young male will experience life inside of a facility at some part of their life. Almost at every stage of the criminal justice process white Americans have a better chance of getting off than African Americans while they might be accused of committing the same exact crime. White and African Americans are said to be using the same amount of drugs and narcotics at about the same rate but statistics show that African Americans are .highly outnumbering white Americans inside of penal institutions for nonviolent drug offenses. This paper will go in depth with the more proof such as statistics and facts that African Americans are experiencing racial inequalities within the criminal justice…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Racial Profiling

    • 1103 Words
    • 5 Pages

    People of color get pulled over more than white people. Is it because the people of color are all criminals or because the police are getting lazier? people who use racial profiling usually have a negative perception or judgment about African Americans. Racial profiling is a hot subject in the world today. Racial profiling is a fact of life for many Americans today, and I for one think it’s sad. Authors Ahmed Rehab and Randall Kennedy both comment on the negative impact that racial profiling has on society today in America. These authors helped me to see the reason why racial profiling is still used, but at the same time they helped to confirm my position on why racial…

    • 1103 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays