Racial Disparities in the American Criminal Justice System:
Racial Disparities in the American Criminal Justice System:
Rates of Incarceration of Blacks vs. Whites
No Equal Justice in the
American Criminal Justice System
Shawn Y. Williams
Troy University-Fort Benning
CJ 5571 Probation, Pardon, & Parole
Instructor’s: Dr. Ronald Craig
April 28, 2007
Abstract
Racial inequality is growing. Our criminal laws, while facially neutral, are enforced in a manner that is massively and pervasively biased. My research will examine the U.S. criminal justice policies and how it has the most adverse effect on minorities. According to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, out of a total population of 1,976,019 incarcerated in adult facilities, 1,239,946 or 63 percent are black or Latino, though these two groups constitute only 25 percent of the national population.
Some of the greatest racial disparities in rates of incarceration occur in states in which minorities are concentrated in urban areas, which tend to have both higher rates of crime and greater law enforcement activity. An analysis utilizing quantitative data will demonstrate that racial disparities exist in the American Criminal Justice System.
INTRODUCTION
Purpose of the Research
US imprisonment rates are much higher than the rest of the world, and within the US, African Americans are imprisoned at least eight times as often as European Americans. Today, our criminal justice system strays far from this ideal. Unequal treatment of minorities characterizes every stage of the process. Black and Hispanic Americans, and other minority groups as well, are victimized by disproportionate targeting and unfair treatment by police and other front-line law enforcement officials; by racially skewed charging and plea bargaining decisions of prosecutors; by discriminatory sentencing practices; and by the failure of judges, elected officials and other criminal justice policy makers to redress the inequities that become more conspicuous every
Rates of Incarceration of Blacks vs. Whites
No Equal Justice in the
American Criminal Justice System
Shawn Y. Williams
Troy University-Fort Benning
CJ 5571 Probation, Pardon, & Parole
Instructor’s: Dr. Ronald Craig
April 28, 2007
Abstract
Racial inequality is growing. Our criminal laws, while facially neutral, are enforced in a manner that is massively and pervasively biased. My research will examine the U.S. criminal justice policies and how it has the most adverse effect on minorities. According to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, out of a total population of 1,976,019 incarcerated in adult facilities, 1,239,946 or 63 percent are black or Latino, though these two groups constitute only 25 percent of the national population.
Some of the greatest racial disparities in rates of incarceration occur in states in which minorities are concentrated in urban areas, which tend to have both higher rates of crime and greater law enforcement activity. An analysis utilizing quantitative data will demonstrate that racial disparities exist in the American Criminal Justice System.
INTRODUCTION
Purpose of the Research
US imprisonment rates are much higher than the rest of the world, and within the US, African Americans are imprisoned at least eight times as often as European Americans. Today, our criminal justice system strays far from this ideal. Unequal treatment of minorities characterizes every stage of the process. Black and Hispanic Americans, and other minority groups as well, are victimized by disproportionate targeting and unfair treatment by police and other front-line law enforcement officials; by racially skewed charging and plea bargaining decisions of prosecutors; by discriminatory sentencing practices; and by the failure of judges, elected officials and other criminal justice policy makers to redress the inequities that become more conspicuous every