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Theory of racial inequality
The importance of mandatory sentencing
The importance of mandatory sentencing
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Theory of racial inequality
The importance of mandatory sentencing
The importance of mandatory sentencing
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Recommended: Theory of racial inequality
He claims the prejudices of the judicial system handed out mandatory sentencing for those who used their constitutional right to have a trial by jury. The author builds a relationship with the audience by using Pathos in order to compel them to recognize the urgency to change the current law. Girault explains the failing logic of the law on page 225, he states that communities were to be made safer and instead of targeting petty crimes the focus would be to bring down kingpins, however after three decades of the SRA it still was a failure. Girault defines the sentencing reform act as discriminatory and states that minorities are hugely effected by this law and states ”Black people are overwhelming charged, convicted and sentenced at a higher rate to federal crimes since the passage of the Sentencing Reform Act.” (Girault 228).
It is an existing theory that our society is constructed via racial dimensions, and that racial equality is a figment of the imagination. This very principle is highlighted in Michelle Alexander’s novel, “The New Jim Crow.” The specific dimensions covered within the text include the unjust aspects of the federal drug policy, and by connection that of mass incarceration as well. Alexander claims that racism is still very prominent in present day society and is direct and frank about the heavy influence of white supremacy. One of the main arguments pushed by Alexander in this book is that mass incarceration is “ a stunningly comprehensive and well-disguised system of racialized social control that functions in a manner strikingly similar
The justice system sentences black people to harsh punishments for minor offenses, where white people would walk away free for the same crime. Our color blindness prevents us from seeing the racial and structural divisions in society, such as the unequal schools, the isolated jobless ghettos, and the segregated society the justice system has built by locking up African American men for up to half their lives and missing out on their
For instance, the criminal justice system, with its focus on punishment and exclusion rather than rehabilitation, hinders the ability of those affected to participate fully in the economic and political life of the country. This, in turn, has significant implications for other social institutions, such as families, schools, and communities. Alexander argues that the new caste system operates by taking advantage of the public's fear of crime and the media's portrayal of people of color as inherently criminal. By perpetuating this false narrative, the criminal justice system is able to maintain its status quo, with people of color as the primary victims.
Annotated Bibliography Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: The New Press. Alexander opens up on the history of the criminal justice system, disciplinary crime policy and race in the U.S. detailing the ways in which crime policy and mass incarceration have worked together to continue the reduction and defeat of black Americans.
Moreover, the criminal justice system plays a significant role in perpetuating systemic racism. Black individuals are disproportionately targeted, arrested, and incarcerated compared to their white counterparts. According to one research study conducted in 2022, despite the advancements of incarceration policies in recent times, Black adults were imprisoned at a rate four times higher than their White
As a result, the purpose of this paper is to bring out the clear differences between Jim Crow system and mass incarceration system. Most importantly, the paper will look at the three key differences that exists between the two systems starting from that of the Jim Crow being explicitly raced-based contrary to mass incarceration that does not contain any levels of racism. Secondly, the systems brought about some direct harm to people of white origin as well as that of black supported of the mainstream system purporting for a change in the
Periods leading to the 1970's that created mass incarcerations The population of imprisonment of the American prisons greatly increased from 1970’s most of them being the blacks and their residential areas depict low standards of life. As of, Simon, (2014), the causes of incarcerations in the ninety seventies was as a result of the new directives which stated that vindictive sanctions was to be placed to the United States community if they do not arrest law breakers. Social factors such as unemployment and poor living standard increased imprisonment rate, during this period African Americans were mostly affected because politicians and law enforcing agencies believed that such group of people would commit crime frequently.
Affirmative Action Reader pg. 244 “ those many in our society that are darker, poorer, more identifiably foreign will continue to suffer the poverty, marginalization, immersion and incarceration.” Statistics are staggering Racial Disparities in Incarceration African Americans constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population, they are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites, what’s shocking is that one in six black men had been incarcerated as of 2001 and if the trends continues one in three black males born today can expect to spend time in prison during his lifetime. I am for affirmative action, as I believe that when the late President John F Kennedy signed the affirmative action on March 6th 1961,
In her book, The New Jim Crow Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander who was a civil rights lawyer and legal scholar, reveals many of America’s harsh truths regarding race within the criminal justice system. Though the Jim Crow laws have long been abolished, a new form has surfaced, a contemporary system of racial control through mass incarceration. In this book, mass incarceration not only refers to the criminal justice system, but also a bigger picture, which controls criminals both in and out of prison through laws, rules, policies and customs. The New Jim Crow that Alexander speaks of has redesigned the racial caste system, by putting millions of mainly blacks, as well as Hispanics and some whites, behind bars
Michelle Alexander, similarly, points out the same truth that African American men are targeted substantially by the criminal justice system due to the long history leading to racial bias and mass incarceration within her text “The New Jim Crow”. Both Martin Luther King Jr.’s and Michelle Alexander’s text exhibit the brutality and social injustice that the African American community experiences, which ultimately expedites the mass incarceration of African American men, reflecting the current flawed prison system in the U.S. The American prison system is flawed in numerous ways as both King and Alexander points out. A significant flaw that was identified is the injustice of specifically targeting African American men for crimes due to the racial stereotypes formed as a result of racial formation. Racial formation is the accumulation of racial identities and categories that are formed, reconstructed, and abrogated throughout history.
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.
United States being the most cosmopolitan country in the world is also the country with most incarcerated citizens in the world, being African American, Hispanics or whites. United States also represents about 5 percent of the world population, it’s also houses about 25 percent of the whole world population. Not so obvious that the percentage of black Americans in jail accounts for the same percentage of any race in United States in jail, now. The number increases every week according to the percent increase of high school and college drop outs per city, the same percentage after dropping from school do not engage in any relevant job, but illegal activities and vandalism leading to their incarceration at a tender age.” United states in the
The racial disparity can be accounted for through the mass incarceration of black offenders in terms of sentencing with mention of a racial caste in place, not allowing those of color to move from their position. As such, mass incarceration has led to prisons being filled with an overpopulation of those who are black than any other race. Interesting enough, it has been proven through surveys that those who are white are more likely to engage in drug crime rather than those who are black. I found this to be an interesting point to discuss as it raises the question as to just why are more people of color incarcerated at a growing rate than
A study conducted by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services undertaking claims of sentencing disparities studies the felony sentencing outcomes particularly in New York courts between the years 1990 and 1992. Astonishingly, the study concluded that approximately one-third of minorities sentenced to prison would have received a shorter sentence with the possibility of a non-incarcerative penalty if they had been treated similarly to their white counterparts. Consequently, other sentencing data is consistent with the results of this study’s findings. On a national scale, black males specifically, who were convicted of drug felonies in state courts 52 percent of the time, while white males typically receive prison sentencing approximately 34 percent of the time. In addition, these figures are not constrained to gender given the similar ratio among black and white women as well.