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Racism in the Criminal Justice System
Racism is one of the most common social vices that has stemmed the American society for a long time, and this can be traced back to the foundation of the nation. There have been various forms of racism, as well as the impacts, but one of the most common is that against the black community. Since the foundation of the United States, people of African descent have been discriminated against on various issues right from education, healthcare, and even equal employment opportunities, not forgetting the discriminative pay and job discrepancies. However, this has never been worse than what the American criminal justice system of America has done to the people of color and mostly falls under those of African descent. For a long time, American criminal justice has been neglectful to the African Americans treating them as lesser humans, and this goes both to the law enforcement as well as the judicial system, acting in discrepancies between whites and blacks. Debates have been raised regarding the conduct of the criminal justice system of America with people claiming that the criminal justice system is biased both in terms of law enforcement and judicial sentencing. In contrast, others argue that the criminal justice system has played a crucial role in ensuring that the law has been followed to the letter, and therefore, the police and the court system have not been biased.
There is compelling evidence of police brutality in enforcing the laws of the land as well as judicial proceedings that have been linked to racial discrimination. One of the issues that African Americans in the United States are more likely to be arrested compared to white Americans. However, once arrested, African Americans are more likely to be convicted, and when they are arrested, there are more likely to face longer prison sentences compared to their white counterparts. According to statistics, people of color are 5.9 more likely to get arrested compared to the whites, while for Hispanics, there is a higher chance as well 3.1 times higher than the whites . Data obtained by the year 2001 indicated that one in every three black boys born in that year had a higher chance of getting arrested and going to prison in their lifetime (Steffensmeier and Stephen, 241). The same case for Latinos, but there was a higher discrepancy among the whites in that statistics suggested that one in seventeen white boys had a chance of being incarcerated in their lifetime. More data indicates that racial and ethnic disparities are also common among women but in a lesser magnitude compared to men.
According to the data above, it can be inferred that the criminal justice system, mostly police enforcement, has been biased over a long time for people of color. African Americans, Hispanics, and Latinos have been the most probable candidate for the police cells as well as the prison system in the United States. Things on the ground have not been friendly to the black community as they are almost six times likely to be arrested compared to whites. It doesn’t mean that people of the black community are more likely to commit crimes than whites. There are more whites in the black neighborhood that commit more crimes than blacks, but people of color end up being blamed for the crimes. Planting of evidence and continued hatred for the people of color has been the number one cause for the racial profiling of the African communities (Legewie, 379).
On another perspective, other than being highly targeted by the police, people of color are more likely to be abused by the law enforcers than the white Americans. America is a land known for equality for all, and this has been for a long time used to mask the continued inhumanity among the police force. More recently, America has been on the limelight not because it has continued to advocate for people’s concerns, but because it has again in the face of the world, not with any shame unmasked how little power to the police can be detrimental in serving all races. The case of George Floyd being murdered in the hands of police while unarmed and at the same time in front of a camera speaks volumes of how the police have continued to kill in secrecy people of black descent. In most cases, people of color are wrongfully targeted just because of their color and not because they have committed crimes worth being killed. George Floyd was only alleged of using a counterfeit 20 dollar bill and was murdered by racist police, and this is just one piece in a series of many indicating how black people have been and are treated in the United States.
In another perspective, American courts have as well been noted for perpetuating racism in their sentencing. It should be noted that African Americans and Latinos only make 29% of the entire population; this sounds very minimal since the two are minority communities. However, this doesn’t translate to the rate of convictions. African Americans, together with the Latinos, make up to 57% of the United States prison population; this sounds awkward considering their entire population. The question arises as to how this came to be, but the overall answer can be based on racism in the criminal justice system. Based on the statistics, the incarceration rates for black and Hispanic adults are 5.9 and 3.1 times that of white adults. The disparity, however, depends on the state, with some states having a higher number of incarcerations than others. According to statistics, out of the 227,000 people in the United States’ prisons in regard to drug offenses, more than half, that is 56% are either Latinos or African Americans. Based on this, it is highly indicative that people of color are drug traffickers and abusers in a higher percentage than the whites, something that might not be true. Since the two races are hated by the police, there are higher chances of planting evidence, making them look like an apparent cause, and this explains why people of color, especially blacks are more likely to be stopped while driving than the whites (Roh and Matthew, 137).
Another explanation of racism in the criminal justice system can be seen in the penalties provided in courts. Nearly half that is 48% of the 206,000 people serving life, and virtual life prison sentences are African Americans, and another 15% are Latinos (Mauer, 27). Besides, the two communities have the highest number of people serving death penalties in the American criminal system. Previously tare has been more people sentenced to death who are blacks compared to any other race. Also, the probability of being given parole among the people of color is less likely compared to whites, and this makes it a prime in the racism of the black communities. It should also be noted that in the juvenile prisons, there are more blacks than whites, with most of them as well being wrongly convicted for crimes they never committed.
On the other hand, whites say that American criminal justice has not been biased, and it has not been a case of racial targeting. The white population claims that the reason why there are more blacks in the American prison is that they are more violent compared to any other races. According to statistics, people of color have a history of violence (Lightfoot and Oliver, 200). Most of the young people in the black community are organized in gangs that are involved in criminal activities such as robbery and drug abuse and trafficking. According to the law, this is not responsible for the behavior and deserves to be punished for their crimes.
Other than being involved in gang and drug-related activities, the black community is also known for being violent to its own people, and this draws a different picture of the criminal justice system. Since they are known to be violent, there is a higher probability of assaulting the police, and that is why most of the police use force to subdue them. Also, the current American stand on gun ownership has caused a dilemma, with most of the Americans owning guns. As a result, people use guns to confront the police and engage in irresponsible behavior such as robbery (Knopov et al., 232). Since most of the black communities are marginalized in terms of resources, they engage in quick ways to get the money that is robbery with violence, crimes that warrant more time in jail. However, blacks have a higher rate of reoffending, and that is why they are more likely to be imprisoned.
In conclusion, the argument to whether the American criminal justice system has been biased on a racial basis or not has continued to trigger more concerns. Data have been brought forward to explain the recent state of events as they are happening. Whether or not the truth is that the American prison system has more blacks than whites and has a higher number of African Americas serving longer sentences, including life imprisonment compared to their white counterparts. However, the culture of violence can be attributed to the higher rate of incarceration among blacks, and this makes it a turn of event as it is the blacks’ behavior that warrants their treatment in courts. However, we cannot deny that the criminal justice system has been racially biased.
Works Cited
Knopov, Anita, et al. “The impact of state firearm laws on homicide rates among black and white populations in the United States, 1991–2016.” Health & Social Work 44.4 (2019): 232-240.
Legewie, Joscha. “Racial profiling and use of force in police stops: How local events trigger periods of increased discrimination.” American journal of sociology 122.2 (2016): 379-424.
Lightfoot, Elizabeth, and Oliver Williams. “Critical issues in researching domestic violence among people of color with disabilities.” Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma 18.2 (2009): 200-219.
Mauer, Marc. “Sentencing reform: Amid mass incarcerations-guarded optimism.” Crim. Just. 26 (2011): 27.
Roh, Sunghoon, and Matthew Robinson. “A geographic approach to racial profiling: The microanalysis and macroanalysis of racial disparity in traffic stops.” Police quarterly 12.2 (2009): 137-169.Steffensmeier, Darrell, and Stephen Demuth. “Does gender modify the effects of race–ethnicity on criminal sanctioning? Sentences for male and female white, black, and Hispanic defendants.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology 22.3 (2006): 241-261.
