African American Teens Receive Harsher Sentences than Caucasian within the Criminal Justice System - Essay Example

? African American Teens Receive Harsher Sentences Than Caucasian within the Criminal Justice System Institutional racism has been outlawed for more than 40 years but, somewhat ironically, racism within the legal system continues unabated. This discussion provides data that demonstrates the disparity of justice in the U.S. and how laws are biased against young black men. There is no debate that African American teens receive harsher sentences than Caucasian within the criminal justice system. The only debate is as to why. Some contend it is mainly due to over-reaching laws while some point to institutionalized and societal racism. The lack of opportunity in the educational system in addition to a great disparity of black men in prisons, both the product of a racist society, accounts for the reason as many young black men are incarcerated. Anyone who has seen even a few minutes of a prison documentary is well aware that black men are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. Black men comprise about 6.5 percent of the U.S. population yet nearly half of this group is currently in prisons. Nearly a third of young black men have been arrested. When categorized according to ethnicity, a wide disparity of justice is apparent. “At midyear 2003 there were 4,834 black male prisoners per 100,000 black males in the United States in prison or jail, compared to 1,778 Hispanic male inmates per 100,000 Hispanic males and 681 white male inmates per 100,000 white males” (“Prison Statistics” 2006) The overrepresentation in prisons is the mirror opposite in institutions of higher education. Black teens have the lowest graduation rate of all ethnic/gender groups. Much of the reason as many black teens are headed to prison today can be traced to federal and state government’s ‘get tough on crime’ policies, specifically the ‘drug war,’ beginning in the 1980’s. During the last 25 years, the U.S. has seen an unparalleled proliferation of state and federal prison inmates. “Between 1980 and 1993, the number of persons incarcerated in these institutions grew from 329,000 to 949,000. By 1994, there were over a million persons in prison. Including those incarcerated in jails, 2,245,000 million people were in prison by 2006” (Vicini, 2007). This proliferation of the inmates was caused by sentencing reforms such as the much vilified mandatory minimum sentences. In 1980, according to a Washington D.C. based research group, the Justice Policy Institute, 143,000 young black men were in prisons. In 2000 791,600 young black men were locked up. The ‘war on drugs’ has added significantly to the U.S. prison population and black men have been most effected as blacks are more likely to be stopped by the police, arrested and incarcerated than any other ethnic group. “Some experts suggested as one explanation a rise in the number of black men serving time (relates to) drug offenses” (Butterfield, 2002). Since the 1980’s, the country has built many new prisons to accommodate the escalation of prisoners, four times the number it was just 25 years ago, a 400 percent increase. According to statistics compiled by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, today more than two million occupy those prisons as compared to about a quarter-million in 1980. Professor Todd Clear of the College of Criminal Justice at John Jay University in Manhattan found the Justice Policy Institute) study were significant and that “there has been a public policy far overemphasizing investment in criminal justice instead of in education for this population. According to the director of the Washington D.C. chapter of the NAACP, Hilary O. Shelton, “It is sad that our states are finding it easier to contribute more to incarcerating our men and women and creating a downward spiral of poverty and destitution rather than investing through our educational system to create an upward spiral of accomplishment and achievement” (Butterfield, 2002). These statistics and many others point to the fact that racism clearly exists in society as evidenced by the criminal justice system Inequality is the practically unavoidable by-product of two prevailing dynamics, prejudice on the individual level and a political disparity on a societal level. All American citizens enjoy lawfully guaranteed equality but the equalities regarding access to the criminal justice system for ethnic minorities such as black teens are unquestionably lacking. Minority members whether racial or ethnic are vulnerable groups who too often face persecution, subjective imprisonment, offensive treatment by law enforcement, and unequal treatment in the court system. At the national and local policing level, ethnic inequities arise from practices such as racial profiling where an individual’s presumed race is the determining factor in placing them under suspicion. The criminal justice system has the vast potential for implementing an unjustified discriminatory outcome even when there is no obvious racist intention. “Discriminatory impact can be shown in patterns of police abuse, arbitrary arrest, incarceration, prosecution, and sentencing” (“Racism”, 2006) Comparative criminal justice studies are dedicated to illustrating how teen ethnic minorities are treated within the criminal justice system. Without exception, the incarceration rate studied demonstrates that the incarceration rates of this group far exceed that of the particular majority ethnicity. In addition, minority members that experience a high crime or incarceration rate generally belong to economically and socially deprived social groups such as black teenagers. Furthermore, minority groups experience heightened discriminatory bias in decisions regarding pretrial confinement and sentencing guidelines. While some minority factions are faring better than those of the majority (white), many others are not. What is not arguable is the fact that minority members are by far overrepresented within all aspects of the criminal justice system including those victimized by crime and those who commit crimes. It goes without saying, however, that they are well under-represented as officials in law enforcement departments as well as in the judiciary. There is evidence (the Macpherson Report) that shows that police officers exhibit racist attitudes and that institutional racism exists within police departments. “‘Stop and search’ policies have been a particular cause for concern, as people from visible minority groups have been over-subject to this policy” (Giddens, 2006). In the United States, for example, overt discriminatory practices during all phases of the criminal justice system concerning ethnic minorities, especially those of African-American descent have been well-documented throughout the history of the country. When asked to identify the source of socially inappropriate behavior and social anguish, institutional entities including law enforcement, politics and psychiatry have a tendency to fault an individual’s failure to regulate their actions. This presumes, incorrectly, that they consciously chose to become oriented to criminal activity. This common misconception may serve to justify reasoning pertaining to the ruling majority which is, generally speaking, upper class, well-educated, white Christian males whose economic, political and social privileges are dependent on a dominated majority. This privileged class who has historically enjoyed judicial privileges, voting rights and has, and continues to write the laws slanted toward their own interests conceals the realities of a supposed democratic structure. These individuals want to maintain and increase their domination and wealth which suppresses minority rights thus the prosperity and overall growth of society. The recent increased implementation of law enforcement measures which are exclusively aimed at minorities, historically black males over all others, has occurred not only in the U.S. but in European nations as well. A study that conducted research in both the U.S. and Europe showed that interactions between police agencies and interactions with immigrants are becoming increasingly tense as evidenced by a proliferation of physical and verbal abuse, a growing mutual distrust and an escalating threat of violence. In the U.S., “Discrimination against minorities occurs indirectly as a result of poor legal representation, language problems, high incidences of specific offenses (such as drug-related and immigration violations) and low level of employment status” (Marshall, 1997). Not surprisingly, further evidence indicates that minorities experienced a disparity of humane treatment while incarcerated. Studies in European countries have uncovered similar outcomes of discriminatory practices. There is an overrepresentation of minorities at every phase of the criminal justice system in the Western world, considered the beacon of progressiveness and justice. Another example is research conducted in France. It found an overrepresentation of foreigners among arrestees in large part because a majority of the crimes are related to immigration. When most people hear the term ‘racial profiling’ the first image that came to mind was the practice of police officers stopping and harassing young, black drivers by a much higher percentage than they did other drivers. African-Americans of all ages rightly complained that they were being disproportionately detained and asked non-pertinent questions by the police. The practice is commonly referred to as ‘driving while black.’ This is a procedure used by police because statistics have shown that African Americans, especially young males, are more likely than are whites to be involved in the commission of a crime.  Racial profiling is illegal but police are allowed to stop and search drivers if they have reason to believe that person may be in possession of drugs or weapons so therefore, this practice continues. As compared to constituents of the socially dominant faction, black men are much more liable to be detained, questioned, and searched by law enforcement officials. Once they have been arrested, minority members are also more likely to suffer police brutality and are more likely to be held in jail while waiting for their trial date instead of having an opportunity to post bond. When tried for a crime, they face a higher probability to be found guilty and are less apt to serve their sentences outside of prison such as serving community service. In addition, they are “more likely to be sentenced to longer prison terms, less likely to be granted parole, and when convicted of capital offenses, they are more likely to be executed, especially for capital offenses against dominants” (Sidaneus & Veniegas, 2000). Racism as an ideology is illogical in principle and diverse in practice thus difficult to explain by a single definition. It permeates the family tree of societies and is reflected in all its attitudes, behavior, and institutions. The concept of racism may be conscious or subconscious and is expressed in actions or attitudes initiated by individuals, groups, or institutions that treat human beings unjustly because of their skin pigmentation. Racism is rooted in dysfunctional belief systems resulting from distorted perceptions formed over a period of time and e cannot ignore the significant role of the socio-cultural environment in shaping perceptual patterns. The duty of humanitarian, social and political interests is to make certain all people regardless of cultural background are both recognized and treated equitably in the criminal justice system. References Butterfield, Fox. (August 28, 2002) “Study Finds Big Increase in Black Men as Inmates Since 1980” The New York Times Accessed June 1, 2011 from Giddens, Anthony. (2006). Sociology. Cambridge: Polity Press. Marshall, I. H. (1997). Minorities, Migrants, and Crime: Diversity and Similarity across Europe and the United States. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. MacDonald, Heather. (December 31, 2001). “The War on the Police … and How it Harms the War on Terrorism.” Supra. Vol. 7, I. 16. Accessed June 1, 2011 from “Prison Statistics” (May 2006). Bureau of Justice Statistics US Department of Justice Accessed June 1, 2011 from “Racism and the Administration of Justice” (January 2006) The Akha Heritage Foundation via Human Rights Watch Accessed June 1, 2011 from Sidaneus, Jim & Veniegas, Rosemary C. (2000). “Gender and Race Discrimination: The Interactive Nature of Disadvantage.” Reducing Prejudice and Discrimination. Stuart Oskamp (Ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 47-69. Vicini, James (June 27, 2007) “Number of U.S. prisoners has biggest rise in 6 years” Reuters Accessed June 1, 2011 from Read More