...norms of the dominant white group and racial and ethnic inequalities are intertwined in every aspect of our society causing minority groups to struggle against a society built around white privilege. Prevalence Minorities in comparison to their population in the United States are incriminated at a higher rate than Whites. Spohn (2000) stated that “a majority of the studies reviewed…found that African Americans and Hispanics were more likely than Whites to be sentenced to prison, even after taking crime seriousness and prior criminal records into account” (as cited in Hartney & Vuong, 2009, p.10). In 2010, racially the United States population identified as being comprised of 196.8 million Whites who identified as White alone (69.1%), 38.9 million Blacks or African Americans (12.6%), and 50.5 million Hispanics (16.3%) (2010 Census Brief, 2011). However, Of those federally sentences in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, 36.7 % or 68,180 were Black, 32.5% or 60,268 were Hispanic and only 27.5% or 51,091 were white (Motivans, 2013). As seen by these numbers, African Americans were 7.7 times more likely, and Hispanics were 5.2 times more likely, than...
Words: 3943 - Pages: 16
...African-American Males, Incarceration and Structural African-American Males, Incarceration and Structural Inequality Incarceration in the United States is one of the main forms of punishment or as many would like to state forms of rehabilitation. With that being the case, the United States, while being considered one of the most powerful and influential countries in the world boasts the highest “rehabilitation” rate in the world. The staggering part remains that not only do we have the highest prison population but our incarceration rate continues to grow as our creativity or desire to solve this problem continues to stagnate. One of the major issues when researching incarceration rates is the obvious elevated rate of young African-American males that are sentenced. While the percentage of African-American incarcerated males is extremely high the length of their sentences are shockingly elevated compared to the majority of population in the United States. “One in every nine African-American males aged 25-29 were in prison or jail in 2009, compared to one in twenty-seven Latino males and one in sixty white males in the same age group, according to the Sentencing Project”. ("State of Young America," 2009, para. 11) The question currently being dealt with in the United States is how do we accommodate all of these prisoners? Our countries answer has been quite simple, to build more prisons or as some would sugarcoat it, “rehabilitation facilities”. The correct question...
Words: 2198 - Pages: 9
...Michigan University Abstract Racial disparities in corrections measured by the black to white per capita incarceration rates vary from state to state, This paper will analyze the current trends and the impact incarceration has on communities of color and how criminal justice policy and practice plays a role in this. 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 happen in states in which minorities are massed in urban areas, which tend to have both higher rates of crime and greater law enforcement activity. This paper will also discuss how these incarcerations affect the offenders, public safety, criminal policies and procedures. Racial Disparities in Corrections There are many factors regarding the disproportional rates of incarceration in communities of color. Data generated by the U.S. Department of Justice predicts that if current trends continue, one out of every three black males born today will go to prison in his lifetime, as well as one of every six Latino males. The rates of incarceration for women overall are lower than for men, but similar racial/ethnic disparities still apply. Some law makers are looking at ways to develop...
Words: 2272 - Pages: 10
...Justice System II. Introduction Incarceration is a kind of punishment in which criminals are held in prison, because they have committed a crime. People are usually incarcerated because they are involved in illegal activities various jurisdictions in different nations have devise different laws and regulations to govern the function of incarceration (Mauer, 1999) III. Body of the paper A. Prevalence 1. Statistics regarding incarceration 2. Statistics regarding race (Kennedy, 1997) 3. Racial disparity in prison sentence 4. Racial disparity in duration of sentence (Kennedy, 1997) This explains and illustrates the various incidents and statistics of African American, Hispanic and the white people. This elaborates that ethical discrimination occurs is the entire criminal justice process. The minorities and ethnic groups are given more harsh punishments as compared to white. B. Causes 1. Reasons behind African American in jail 2. Disparities in ways African American communities are policed (Huffing Post). 3. In adequate allocation of resources 4. Racial profiling (Wall Street Journal). This section describes the various reasons and causes due to which most of the African Americans have to go to jails once in their life time. It will also show how lack of resources contributes to the problem. C. Consequences 1. The impact on individual families( www.urbanportal.com) 2. The effects on the social economic system (NPR) ...
Words: 463 - Pages: 2
...Writing Assignment (Part 4): Race, Incarceration, and Recidivism Nicholle Harris SOC 100 - Intro to Sociology Professor Deborah White June 15, 2014 Writing Assignment (Part 4): Race, Incarceration, and Recidivism Racism in this country directly impacts incarceration and recidivism; specifically for African American males. This is an age old issue in our country that continues to propagate itself. Our society strips away the rights of felons and they become life-long criminals. The implications of incarceration, recidivism and race directly creates quality of life issues for a large percentage of people in the country. There are several sociological concepts that apply to this theory. Poverty leads to higher crime rates. People with lower social classes are more likely to be targeted by the police. The Drug Policy Alliance (n.d) explains in the article “Race and the Drug War” that law enforcement has a “focus on urban areas, on lower-income communities and on communities of color” (para. 1). This type of targeting creates a negative view and disrespect for authority; as a result, it is more likely for crime to be committed. Macionis (2010) states that “race is closely related to social standing, which as already explained, affects the likelihood of engaging in street crimes. Many poor people living in the midst of wealth come to perceive society as unjust and are therefore more likely to turn to crime to get their share.” (p. 232). Higher crime rates...
Words: 1738 - Pages: 7
...most diverse and wealthiest countries in the world. Although the United States is wealthy, not all individuals have benefited from that wealth. Throughout society, African American communities have become marginalized, with areas of poverty, high crime rates, discrimination and few opportunities for advancement. These areas are often locations where racial and cultural minorities live. Racial disparities exist within the criminal justice system and have shown many problems of inequality between the white and black race. In addition to having inequality within the criminal justice system, the criminals also have impacted their family members in different ways due to being incarcerated. The media has misrepresented African Americans by emphasizing African Americans participating in crimes while ignoring crimes committed by whites. People in society are assuming that only black people commit crimes, which is unfair because the incidences of people committing crimes are about equal between the races. Racial disparity favors white people over black people in the criminal justice system. Therefore, society must reevaluate the way society portrays who commits crimes, and where they are committed. Throughout many decades of history, black people had been discriminated against and treated as second class citizens in American society, even though they participated equally in the workforce. Discrimination has happened from slavery until present times. For example, during the 17th century...
Words: 2275 - Pages: 10
...Racial Disparities in the U.S. Prison Population: Causes, Effects and Remedies Michael C. Pugh Bethel University Introduction America’s war on drugs has contributed to a steady influx of non-violent offenders into the nation’s judicial system for over thirty years. Many of these inmates are serving long sentences with rigid probation and parole policies that many believe are designed as a set-up for failure and re-offense. The result of this influx of offenders is a growing racial disparity, as shown by Bobo & Thompson: In 2004. for example, black males constituted 43.3 percent of those incarcerated in state, federal, and local prisons or jails, though only 13 percent of the total population. Whites on the other hand represented 35.7 percent of the male inmate population in 2004, well under their 75 percent of the total male population (Bobo & Thompson, 2006). (p. 451) This ballooning disparity has become a trend of increasing concern among proponents of racial equality. Many view this trend as another cog in the wheel of covert institutional racism, even labeling it “The New Jim Crow”. Among the men and women of color now residing in U.S. prisons are the potential business owners, educators and leaders of communities that sorely need them. Immediate and results-oriented attention to the racial disparity in U.S. prisons will do much to repair the damaged, needful communities of color throughout the country. BLACK CRIME: CRIMINAL OR CULTURAL? “Black...
Words: 1046 - Pages: 5
...In the United States of America, crime has become more prevalent, in which often results in imprisonment. According to political scientists Amy Lerman and Vesla Weaver, “The American incarceration rate quadrupled between 1970 and 2010” (Goldstein). This essentially affects African Americans, as according to Leila Morsey, “For every 100,000 black men, more than 2,700 are imprisoned” (Morsy). While incarceration affects African Americans, it also as equally important, if not more with parents. The mass incarceration of parents impacts the influence on the children of those being detained. According to prevention researchers Jane Waldfogel and Elizabeth Johnson, the number of parents with children in prison had doubled, “Approximately 600,000 children had a parent in state...
Words: 593 - Pages: 3
...Minority Inmates in American Prisons Noreen Harman ENG122: English Composition II Instructor January Pearson July 7, 2014 There is a disparate rate of minorities in the American prison system currently. I will present evidence from scholarly resources proving that the reason why the minority population is so high is due to racial profiling. The judicial system imposes stricter and longer prison terms on minorities because of their culture. Blacks are about eight times more likely to go to prison than whites, which dwarfs black-white disparities in, for example, unemployment rates (2-to -1 disparity), infant mortality (2-to -1 disparity), and out of wedlock births (3-to-1 disparity). L.J. Geo (2010). African American and Hispanic offenders were more likely than whites to be sentenced to prison, especially if they were male, young and unemployed, S. Spohn (2000). Even though there may be a high rate of minority crimes being committed, I believe the reason for having so many minorities in prison is due to the current judicial system stereo typing. In the article Rethinking Drug Courts: Restorative Justice as a Response to Racial Injustice, it talks about the rate of drug crimes committed by minority and longer sentences imposed to blacks and Hispanics. Drug court offers offenders the opportunity to not do time in prison and get court supervised treatment instead. This is beneficial to the families of minorities so they can keep working and providing...
Words: 3140 - Pages: 13
...Unfair Incarceration: Minorities’ Plight in the U.S. Judicial System DeVry University Cultural Diversity in the Professions SOCS 350N Spring 2013 Abstract The United States is well known as the Land of Opportunity, but if you’re a minority that opportunity maybe a greater chance of being incarcerated in the state and federal penal systems. Civil rights battles have raged for the greater part of the last century in this country. With milestone victories in the early and mid 1960’s equality under the law seemed to be a foregone conclusion. There are numerous laws, policies and even a Constitutional Amendment that address the matter that race should never be a factor. With this is all in play and in mind, you would think that statistics of the U.S. penal systems racial analysis has to be completed with a huge margin in error because it is not near equality. In a cursory search of this topic one can find a deluge of graphs, tables, and statistical analysis. The one thing you cannot find is a quantitative or qualitative consensus of why this has occurred or why it is still occurring. A preponderance of the evidence is anecdotal and offers suggestions of policies and attitudes that have led to this epidemic in contemporary American society. In this review, an endeavor to gather the gist of the issue and attempt to answer why or how this came about and the numerical extent. Followed by the consequences to the affected groups and the whole of society. Finally...
Words: 2578 - Pages: 11
...Running head: MASS INCARCERATION AND PRISONER RE-ENTRY MASS INCARCERATION AND PRISONER RE-ENTRY Mass Incarceration and Prisoner Re-Entry Student’s name: Tutor: Course: Date: Introduction The objective of a large number of the prisoner reentry programs is to ensure effective prisoner rehabilitation back to the community in order to reduce the likelihood of recidivism. While there have been increased efforts by the government organizations and other not-for-profit organization to promote effective reentry, the effectiveness of these programs are based on the efficiency of the strategies. Studies indicate that the rates of recidivism are greatly reduced where effective reentry programs are utilized (Baglivio, Wolff, Jackowski, & Greenwald,...
Words: 4643 - Pages: 19
...health. These effects include the constant scrutiny of the former prisoners and their family, the possibility of parents succumbing to the prison way of solving problems with violence, and the effects from contact with the emotions of other families with inmates regardless if the child has a parent incarcerated or not. Communities that have many former inmates living within them are also affected financially. Due to the fact that former prisoners commonly have problems finding a job, they are often stuck with a low socioeconomic status, unemployment, and unstable housing. The previously incarcerated also affect the political influence of their community due to that fact that some states permanently disallow felons to vote. This also decreases...
Words: 1272 - Pages: 6
...The Mass incarceration of people of color and felony disenfranchisement is a tool that is being utilized to continue on with legalized slavery. Through Mass incarceration and felony disenfranchisement it is easier to control people of color and legally discriminate against those who have been convicted of felonies by implementing laws that enable them to be productive citizens upon their return to society. The United States has a very dark history or oppressing the minority, this has been done through many practices such as slavery, Jim Crow laws etc. Although America has made strides in certain areas regarding equal quality of living for all, America still has ways to go. The oppressive was and discriminatory nature of America continues as...
Words: 415 - Pages: 2
...In today’s society, incarceration has been the medium by which justice is addressed. However, within this medium, exists inconsistencies that have caused a massive population of incarceration. The most obvious inconsistency is that the majority of the prison population is composed of minorities. Furthermore, the main reason for this mass incarceration is due to the inequalities that minorities face in this country. In this literature review, an attempt is made to take a more in depth look into different elements of inequality through the views of various authors. It will include how inequality exists in employment, education, and the justice system, while identifying the link between these elements and incarceration. In addition, it will also...
Words: 1340 - Pages: 6
...The United States of Incarceration Introduction As we near the end of 2015, racial discrimination remains an issue that can quickly create controversy and heated debate. The ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement has become a common topic for families, which many believing that minorities are treated more harshly than whites in similar incidents. However, this movement should widen the scoop of its focus to include the discrimination not just of law enforcement officials, but also of the criminal justice system itself. Disparities in sentencing have skyrocketed since the 1980s and this increase is pushed by the war on drugs. Despite the clear evidence showing that sentencing reform must become a priority for policymakers due to both the social and economic aspects of this issue, things remain the same. The purpose of this essay is to inform the debate on sentencing reform, race, and education....
Words: 1647 - Pages: 7
