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Disparities In Prisons

1642 Words7 Pages

Unfortunately, there are racial disparities in the United States in the legal system. Prison sentences imposed on African American males in the federal system are nearly 20 percent longer than white males convicted of similar crimes. The 1994 Crime Bill signed by President Clinton established mandatory minimum sentences. African American and Latino offenders sentenced in state and federal courts face greater odds of incarceration than white offenders who are in similar situations and receive longer sentences than whites in some jurisdictions. Research has shown that race plays a significant role in determination on which homicide cases resulted in death sentences. On September 13,1994 President Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The legislation Increased federal penalties for many crimes, including adding new offenses that can be punished by death. Makes a variety of offenses new federal crimes, such as "drive-by" shootings and carjacking. Increases funding for …show more content…

As these men are released from prison not only are their limited skills diminished but they no longer have the right to vote in any elections. With over 1 million African American males currently under the control of the criminal justice system, the voting roles of the African American community are being decimated by this prison epidemic. Some might even argue that the schemes of elitists are oriented around the construction of more prisons to ensure African Americans could not effectively participate in the political process. The incarceration of African American males leads to homes without a father figure involved with the family and the financial provider is gone in most cases. That doesn 't mean kids without fathers will end up doing terrible in life. But, there seems to be an issue regarding households being fatherless because of incarceration

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