Examples Of Racism In The Criminal System
There will always be people who will say the criminal system is not racist, that racism ended long ago, but there will also be people who believe it is racist, has been, and continues to be that way. Although everyone is entitled to their own opinion, facts are needed to prove the truth. And even if you pick a side based on your opinion, is it true? To have a well thought out opinion, you need facts, and along with those facts, you need examples. People don’t see the major issue that goes on in the criminal system against colored people. “Racism may well be the biggest crime in the criminal legal system. If present trends continue, 1 of every 4 African American males born this decade can expect to go to prison in his lifetime, despite
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the fact that the Census Bureau reports that the U.S. is 13 percent Black, 61 percent white and 17 percent Latino.” (18 Examples of Racism In The Criminal Legal System) People already have a set mindset on how they tend to see people of color and tend to stereotype them as is.
According to the Sentencing Project, “Black men are nearly 6 times as likely to be incarcerated as white men and Hispanic men are 2.3 times as likely”.
(18 Examples Of Racism In The Criminal Legal System) The rate of these statistics go up as people who are stereotyped tend to fall into the likelihood of being wrongfully accused. “In 1954, when Brown v Board of Education was decided, about 100,000 African Americans were in prison. Now, 800,000 African Americans in jails and prisons. 538,000 in prisons, and over 263,000 in local jails.” (18 Examples Of Racism In The Criminal Legal System) The way police have treated people of color in the past few years have shown how racially profiled the colored community …show more content…
is.
In 2006, “37.5 percent of all state and federal prisons were made up of black prisoners. About 1 in 33 black men were in prison. Comparing this with 1 in 205 white men and 1 in 79 Hispanic men. 11 percent of all black males between the ages of 20 and 34 are in prison or jail.” (City Journal) This statistic shows colored people are more likely to be imprisoned than white people.
For example, “a black man in Kansas City, 25 or younger, has a 28 percent chance of being stopped, while a similar white male has only a 12 percent chance.” (18 Examples Of Racism In The Criminal Legal System) Blacks and Hispanics have a higher rate of being stopped by the police than a white person.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Once stopped, during traffic stops, 3 times as many Black and Hispanic drivers were searched as white drivers.” Although a white person can still receive a ticket, it is at a lower rate.
In school, black kids are twice as likely to be arrested for crimes than white kids.
(18 Examples Of Racism In The Criminal Legal System) According to Human Rights Watch, more than 2,500 people in the United States have been convicted of a crime committed before they were 18 years old and sentenced to life without parole. 45% of all incarcerated youth are African-American, 30% are White and 25% are Hispanic. (Racial Inequality in Youth Sentencing) 60 % of people serving life without parole for crimes committed in their youth in the United States are African American, 29% are White and 8% are Native American. (Racial Inequality in Youth
Sentencing).
Even though people may claim the criminal system is neither completely free nor completely unfair, many cases have shown racism in decisions made by the criminal system. Many argue that racial and ethnic groups are mistreated and treated harsher than white groups. There is solid evidence to prove the racial discrimination in the court system. Police use deadly force and the application if the death penalty.
In 2009, there was a high-profile police shooting on Fruitvale Station in Oakland, CA killing a 23 year old black male, Oscar Grant. The officer who shot him was a white male who was sentenced 2 years in prison but was released after serving only 11 months. (Settlement in ‘Fruitvale Station’ killing - CNN) On February 26, 2012 an unarmed 17 year old black male, Trayvon Martin, was shot and killed by a white male police officer in Florida. The young man was carrying an iced tea and skittles while wearing a hoodie. In 2013 Zimmerman (the shooter) was sentenced to second degree murder. Eric Garner, age 43, was also a victim of racial profiling as he was accused of selling cigarettes in front of a store in Staten Island, New York. He stood with his arms up asking the officers not to shoot but seconds later a police officer held him, a 350 pound male, in a chokehold pulling him towards the sidewalk and rolling him onto his stomach. (Trayvon Martin's death sparked a movement that lives on five years later - CNN) In 2014, Michael Brown an unarmed 18 year old black male from Ferguson, Missouri was shot by a police officer, Darren Wilson. Documents show Wilson shot his gun 12 times. A grand jury decided not indict Wilson causing hatred and violent protest and clashes with authorities. In 2015 Walter Scott was shot 3 times in the back by Michael Slanger, a police officer in South Carolina. The two men were 18 feet apart when Slanger opened fire. A judge declared a mistrial on the fourth day of deliberations after a jury failed to reach a verdict due to Slanger claiming the whole story wasn’t being showed in the video captured by a bystander. Sandra Bland was pulled over by Brian Encinia, a police officer in Waller County, Texas. After Bland refused to put out her cigarette and step out the vehicle, Encinia opened her door and attempted to pull her out. In a video captured, Encinia told Bland she was under arrest and Bland repeatedly asked why while Encinia did not respond. At a point during the arrest Encinia pointed what seemed to be a taser and Bland stepped out her car. Bland was detained for allegedly assaulting the officer. Three days after her arrest, Bland was found hanging in her cell at the jail. Since all the deaths of several African-Americans at the hands of police, the "Black Lives Matter" movement has been kept in the public eye. Many people are angry at the racism they feel is going on with the criminal system. This injustice has caused people to violently protest and clash with authority.
African American men were sentenced to 19 percent longer time periods in federal courts across the U.S. than white men convicted of similar crimes in a 4-year study conducted by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Black women are incarcerated at a rate nearly 3 times higher than white woman. Over 65 percent of prisoners serving life without parole for nonviolent offenses are black.More than half of all federal prisoners are there for drug offenses. The U.S Sentencing Commission reported 25 percent of all federal drug convictions in 2014 were of African Americans and 47 percent were Hispanics versus 24 percent of whites. In federal prisons, 22 percent are white and 76 percent are African American or Hispanic.
The Bureau of Justice System reports 208,000 people are in state prisons for drug offenses. Of this number, 32 percent are white and 68 percent are African American or Hispanic. The National Academy of Sciences stated that, after conviction, blacks are more likely than whites to receive longer sentences. The National Academy of Sciences also stated that blacks are more likely than whites to received prison terms rather than community service. Black people are imprisoned at twice the rate of white people in the U.S., according to theU.S Department of Justice.
Cliffsnotes states “Most decisions in criminal justice are not based on discrimination. Research demonstrates that decisions throughout the justice systems are based mainly on the seriousness of the crime, the amount of legal evidence proving guilt that is available, and the prior criminal record of the suspect, defendant, or inmate”. That being said, many will agree or disagree based on how they feel about the topic.
Los Angeles congresswoman Maxine Waters, believes the system is racist, charging that “the color of your skin dictates whether you will be arrested or not, prosecuted harshly or less harshly, or receive a stiff sentence or gain probation or entry into treatment.” (Is The Criminal System Racist)
Ivy League professor Cornel West condemns “the widespread mistreatment of black people, especially black men, by law-enforcement agencies.” Bill Quigley, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, says “the U.S. criminal-justice system is ... a race-based institution where African-Americans are directly targeted and punished in a much more aggressive way than white people.” (Is The Criminal System Racist)
“There is no systematic racism in criminal justice. Wilbanks coined the phrase “systematic racism” and uses it as an ideal standard against which to measure American criminal justice” (Cliffsnotes) When the criminal system is not biased, it means no matter your color, race, age, gender, or sexuality should not influence a decision upon your sentence.
The Criminal system has been racist towards any non-white person in America for a long time. No matter how big or small the crime committed is, the system finds a way to be biased towards a person. In a perfect life, the criminal justice system would be equal to all tall, small, colored, white, anyone at all, but in reality it is not that way. It is not so simple to everyone to not be biased towards one another.
Many people fear for their life everyday they step out their door. All the crime that has occurred in the past years has not only been unfair to all those it has hurt but it has also been a scary thing to see for everyone else. Colored people are being racially profiled everyday and even though the authority says otherwise people feel discriminated against. The criminal system is unjust to those of colored skin.
There has been a variety of different cases through the years showng unfair treatment to the colored community. Some cases have left people injured or even worse, ended in death. Some police have taken their power to an extreme by hurting civilians. Colored people have felt betrayed by authority because people should feel safe having police around and feel they are being protected. They should not feel like they have to watch their every move and not make any mistake at all because they fear for their life. People have become scared of police and have grown to not respect them. The hatred grown for authorities in every community has brought a bad reputation to police. Although not all police are bad, many people still fear for an unjust criminal system.
the fact that the Census Bureau reports that the U.S. is 13 percent Black, 61 percent white and 17 percent Latino.” (18 Examples of Racism In The Criminal Legal System) People already have a set mindset on how they tend to see people of color and tend to stereotype them as is.
According to the Sentencing Project, “Black men are nearly 6 times as likely to be incarcerated as white men and Hispanic men are 2.3 times as likely”.
(18 Examples Of Racism In The Criminal Legal System) The rate of these statistics go up as people who are stereotyped tend to fall into the likelihood of being wrongfully accused. “In 1954, when Brown v Board of Education was decided, about 100,000 African Americans were in prison. Now, 800,000 African Americans in jails and prisons. 538,000 in prisons, and over 263,000 in local jails.” (18 Examples Of Racism In The Criminal Legal System) The way police have treated people of color in the past few years have shown how racially profiled the colored community …show more content…
is.
In 2006, “37.5 percent of all state and federal prisons were made up of black prisoners. About 1 in 33 black men were in prison. Comparing this with 1 in 205 white men and 1 in 79 Hispanic men. 11 percent of all black males between the ages of 20 and 34 are in prison or jail.” (City Journal) This statistic shows colored people are more likely to be imprisoned than white people.
For example, “a black man in Kansas City, 25 or younger, has a 28 percent chance of being stopped, while a similar white male has only a 12 percent chance.” (18 Examples Of Racism In The Criminal Legal System) Blacks and Hispanics have a higher rate of being stopped by the police than a white person.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Once stopped, during traffic stops, 3 times as many Black and Hispanic drivers were searched as white drivers.” Although a white person can still receive a ticket, it is at a lower rate.
In school, black kids are twice as likely to be arrested for crimes than white kids.
(18 Examples Of Racism In The Criminal Legal System) According to Human Rights Watch, more than 2,500 people in the United States have been convicted of a crime committed before they were 18 years old and sentenced to life without parole. 45% of all incarcerated youth are African-American, 30% are White and 25% are Hispanic. (Racial Inequality in Youth Sentencing) 60 % of people serving life without parole for crimes committed in their youth in the United States are African American, 29% are White and 8% are Native American. (Racial Inequality in Youth
Sentencing).
Even though people may claim the criminal system is neither completely free nor completely unfair, many cases have shown racism in decisions made by the criminal system. Many argue that racial and ethnic groups are mistreated and treated harsher than white groups. There is solid evidence to prove the racial discrimination in the court system. Police use deadly force and the application if the death penalty.
In 2009, there was a high-profile police shooting on Fruitvale Station in Oakland, CA killing a 23 year old black male, Oscar Grant. The officer who shot him was a white male who was sentenced 2 years in prison but was released after serving only 11 months. (Settlement in ‘Fruitvale Station’ killing - CNN) On February 26, 2012 an unarmed 17 year old black male, Trayvon Martin, was shot and killed by a white male police officer in Florida. The young man was carrying an iced tea and skittles while wearing a hoodie. In 2013 Zimmerman (the shooter) was sentenced to second degree murder. Eric Garner, age 43, was also a victim of racial profiling as he was accused of selling cigarettes in front of a store in Staten Island, New York. He stood with his arms up asking the officers not to shoot but seconds later a police officer held him, a 350 pound male, in a chokehold pulling him towards the sidewalk and rolling him onto his stomach. (Trayvon Martin's death sparked a movement that lives on five years later - CNN) In 2014, Michael Brown an unarmed 18 year old black male from Ferguson, Missouri was shot by a police officer, Darren Wilson. Documents show Wilson shot his gun 12 times. A grand jury decided not indict Wilson causing hatred and violent protest and clashes with authorities. In 2015 Walter Scott was shot 3 times in the back by Michael Slanger, a police officer in South Carolina. The two men were 18 feet apart when Slanger opened fire. A judge declared a mistrial on the fourth day of deliberations after a jury failed to reach a verdict due to Slanger claiming the whole story wasn’t being showed in the video captured by a bystander. Sandra Bland was pulled over by Brian Encinia, a police officer in Waller County, Texas. After Bland refused to put out her cigarette and step out the vehicle, Encinia opened her door and attempted to pull her out. In a video captured, Encinia told Bland she was under arrest and Bland repeatedly asked why while Encinia did not respond. At a point during the arrest Encinia pointed what seemed to be a taser and Bland stepped out her car. Bland was detained for allegedly assaulting the officer. Three days after her arrest, Bland was found hanging in her cell at the jail. Since all the deaths of several African-Americans at the hands of police, the "Black Lives Matter" movement has been kept in the public eye. Many people are angry at the racism they feel is going on with the criminal system. This injustice has caused people to violently protest and clash with authority.
African American men were sentenced to 19 percent longer time periods in federal courts across the U.S. than white men convicted of similar crimes in a 4-year study conducted by the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Black women are incarcerated at a rate nearly 3 times higher than white woman. Over 65 percent of prisoners serving life without parole for nonviolent offenses are black.More than half of all federal prisoners are there for drug offenses. The U.S Sentencing Commission reported 25 percent of all federal drug convictions in 2014 were of African Americans and 47 percent were Hispanics versus 24 percent of whites. In federal prisons, 22 percent are white and 76 percent are African American or Hispanic.
The Bureau of Justice System reports 208,000 people are in state prisons for drug offenses. Of this number, 32 percent are white and 68 percent are African American or Hispanic. The National Academy of Sciences stated that, after conviction, blacks are more likely than whites to receive longer sentences. The National Academy of Sciences also stated that blacks are more likely than whites to received prison terms rather than community service. Black people are imprisoned at twice the rate of white people in the U.S., according to theU.S Department of Justice.
Cliffsnotes states “Most decisions in criminal justice are not based on discrimination. Research demonstrates that decisions throughout the justice systems are based mainly on the seriousness of the crime, the amount of legal evidence proving guilt that is available, and the prior criminal record of the suspect, defendant, or inmate”. That being said, many will agree or disagree based on how they feel about the topic.
Los Angeles congresswoman Maxine Waters, believes the system is racist, charging that “the color of your skin dictates whether you will be arrested or not, prosecuted harshly or less harshly, or receive a stiff sentence or gain probation or entry into treatment.” (Is The Criminal System Racist)
Ivy League professor Cornel West condemns “the widespread mistreatment of black people, especially black men, by law-enforcement agencies.” Bill Quigley, legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, says “the U.S. criminal-justice system is ... a race-based institution where African-Americans are directly targeted and punished in a much more aggressive way than white people.” (Is The Criminal System Racist)
“There is no systematic racism in criminal justice. Wilbanks coined the phrase “systematic racism” and uses it as an ideal standard against which to measure American criminal justice” (Cliffsnotes) When the criminal system is not biased, it means no matter your color, race, age, gender, or sexuality should not influence a decision upon your sentence.
The Criminal system has been racist towards any non-white person in America for a long time. No matter how big or small the crime committed is, the system finds a way to be biased towards a person. In a perfect life, the criminal justice system would be equal to all tall, small, colored, white, anyone at all, but in reality it is not that way. It is not so simple to everyone to not be biased towards one another.
Many people fear for their life everyday they step out their door. All the crime that has occurred in the past years has not only been unfair to all those it has hurt but it has also been a scary thing to see for everyone else. Colored people are being racially profiled everyday and even though the authority says otherwise people feel discriminated against. The criminal system is unjust to those of colored skin.
There has been a variety of different cases through the years showng unfair treatment to the colored community. Some cases have left people injured or even worse, ended in death. Some police have taken their power to an extreme by hurting civilians. Colored people have felt betrayed by authority because people should feel safe having police around and feel they are being protected. They should not feel like they have to watch their every move and not make any mistake at all because they fear for their life. People have become scared of police and have grown to not respect them. The hatred grown for authorities in every community has brought a bad reputation to police. Although not all police are bad, many people still fear for an unjust criminal system.