Criminal Justice System And Racial Incarceration In The United States

In the recent years, the population of Americans incarcerated has increased at extraordinary rates. In fact, the U.S has the highest incarceration rate in the world (Bureau of Justice Statistics). The majority of those incarcerated are for non-violent crimes, like for the use of drugs, possession of drugs, distribution of drugs, property crimes, and petty theft. Interestingly, the numbers of those incarcerated are higher in one ethnic group than another. Research shows that African Americans and Hispanics are often charged longer sentences and are convicted of crimes that only require mandatory minimum sentencing far more than Whites. While some believe that the system is racist and unfair, others argue that the high rates of incarceration of these ethnic groups reflect their crime rates and not

Through my research I continuously asked myself; why are there more people of color incarcerated than whites? Is it because they commit more crimes? Or are parts of the criminal justice system flawed and discriminatory? Nonetheless, if the there is some kind of discrimination, does this explain poverty in African American and Hispanic communities? I found that, today, people of color are more likely to be incarcerated and sentenced disproportionally than their white counterparts. Racial inequalities in the criminal justice system are evident now more than ever. Although some believe that we are now past racial disparities, people of color are still facing injustice in the criminal justice system as appose to whites. Furthermore, my research has found that mass incarceration of one race, leads to mass poverty in