In the article, “The Rich Get Richer and Poor Get Prison” Jefferey H. Reiman clearly depicts that poor citizens have a greater chance for imprisonment over middle and upper- class citizens. The author makes it predominately obvious that he believes, at least as far as criminal justice is concerned, racism is simply one powerful form of economic bias (Reiman 1). Through studies, statics in the article overall show that black Americans with low income rates or no income at all living in “disorganized inner-cities” have an increasingly higher rate to commit crimes resulting in being arrested leading conviction. The criminal justice system functions to ‘weed out’ and thus grants advantages to the middle and upper- class. First, there is economic…
Does our legal system have racist tendencies? In a perfect world, people would be punished for the crimes of which they are guilty, and all punishments would be fair. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. Racism is still at large.…
While working for the American Civil Liberties Union, Michelle Alexander’s perspective changed as she gained insight on the racial bias in our criminal justice system and how it has been altered throughout time. In The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindless, Alexander compares our current justice system to the Jim Crow laws of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which enforced racial segregation, by calling our system “The New Jim Crow.”…
I. Introduction- The criminal justice system can be bias toward other races, meaning certain races are criminalized and profiled more othen than others, historically and presently.…
The Sentencing Project also illustrates that the black community is intentionally targeted through mass incarceration. Their article, entitled “The Color of Justice: Racial and Ethnic Disparity in State Prisons” states that in sixteen states, black people are more than seven times more likely to get imprisoned than their white counterparts (“The Color of Justice: Racial and Ethnic Disparity in State…
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.…
However, various people in the 13 would most likely disagree with that statement. In fact, New Jersey Senator, Cory Booker, said that “Right now, we have more African-Americans under criminal supervision that all the slaves back in the 1850s.” Booker’s point is that while African Americans have equal rights,but the justice system is full of racism and discrimination which separates whites from blacks. Another quote that reinforces the idea of racism in our justice system comes professor and writer Michelle Alexander. She says that, “So many aspects of the old Jim Crows are suddenly legal again once you’ve been a branded felon.” What she means by this is that once you’ve been convicted as a felon you suddenly lose may rights as a U.S.…
Nowadays, if a white man commits the same crime than a black man, the white man might get a lighter sentence or punishment compared to the one the black man gets. Although they did the same crime, their sentences are different due to their race. Basically, the justice system disproportionately affects…
Many people know that people of color, especially African Americans, were treated quite unfairly around the 1930s - many don’t know, however, that the same horrendous treatment is still present today. In the 1930s, most people held prejudices against those of other races, and those prejudices became known through the decisions of the legal system. Now, it has been about 90 years, and society has yet to make the necessary improvements to counteract the influences of such prejudices on the legal system. True, there have been many changes in the American Legal system over the past years, however, it has not changed drastically enough so as to provide justice to everyone.…
I totally agree with your post. I believe when we look at the disparity of inmates in prison show us the real fact of our correctional system. In term of racism is this country, it has gradually decreased and in the current society people are segregated by class and that fact will never change no matter how many time we debate about that topic. Because if we look at other countries, where there is no racial discrimination exists, there is a bias towards the rich and the poor, but apparently will never change, because it is the divide line in every…
I think that the Justice System is not racist. African Americans might resave higher sentences because they could be repeat offender that had been caught again for the same crime. Their might be some people in the Justice System that might be racist but not…
There has been crimes of racism, take for instance in 1992, two white police officers named Walter Budzyn and Larry Nevers beat to death an African American man, named Malice Green, with a flashlight. It was said that it was a routine traffic stop in which Green was driving, but everyone in Detroit knew that Malice Green was homeless and did not have a car. Green refused to open his hand and give the police the vile of crack that he was holding. For that he paid the ultimate price with his life. He was struck 14 times in the head with the police flashlight. Both officers were charged with involuntary manslaughter. Nevers received 4 years and Budzyn received 41/2 years. On the other hand in that same year my brother an African American male accidentally killed a white woman while playing with a gun. He got the same involuntary manslaughter charge and did 17 years. Maxing out his sentence. Each time he was up for parole he was denied. Eventually they just has to let him go.…
Also, studies also show that black men are enduring incarceration longer. In a 2012 working paper, they found ´¨robust evidence” that a lack male federal defendant given longer sentences than comparable whites.” Also to add to that, in What's It Like to be Black in the Criminal Justice System, prosecutors are twice as likely to file charges towards blacks that have a mandatory minimum sentence than…
In the article “Is the Criminal Justice System Racist” I believe that it’s racist because everyone should get treated equally it doesn't matter what race you are everyone should have the same charge and do the same time and it does not seems like everyone is getting treated equal.…
Is there really a difference in prosecution and sentencing based on race in the United States? Relative to their numbers in the general population and among drug offenders, black Americans are unjustifiably arrested, convicted, and incarcerated on drug charges. Although the majority of those who sold and abused drugs are white, almost two-thirds of drug arrestees are black. In addition, the Wall Street Journal stated that, “prison sentences were nearly 20% longer for black men than those of white men for similar crimes in recent years.” I believe that potential reasons may include racial profiling. Although the existence of racial…