Why Black Men Between the Ages of 25 to 29 Are More Likely to Be in Jail - Essay Example

Why Black Men between the Ages of 25 to 29 are more likely to be in Jail as Compared to Whites and Hispanics? Jose Miranda SOCS 350 Gail Rognan 4th August 2011 I. Introduction The male adults of African-American community aged between 25 and 29 are the most vulnerable targets of incarcerations, prison sentences and convictions as compared with Hispanics and Whites. This scenario pinpoints towards structured inequality in the justice system of America and speaks of the numerous reasons behind the increasing rates of criminal prosecutions, prison sentences and convictions of Black males. I. Background of African-Americans Unemployment in the African-American community augments the crisis in their socioeconomic status. Many blacks that face criminal charges on account of minor crimes suffer while they are in jail; and later when they are freed from prison. With a permanent blotch on their criminal records, they are barred from colleges and job market. Mass arrests and incarceration of people of color largely due to drug law violations have hobbled families and communities by stigmatizing and removing substantial numbers of men and women… Today, 1 in 15 African-American children and 1 in 42 Latino children have a parent in prison, compared to 1 in 111 white children… 55 percent [blacks] in Chicago, for example are labeled felons for life, and, as a result, may be prevented from voting and accessing public housing, student loans and other public assistance. (Drug Policy alliance, 2011) The general conception and definition of crimes is predominantly inclined against blacks. For some strange reason, street crimes of blacks carry more weight than the refined crimes of the people in corporate world or with white collar jobs. “In contrast, the illegal activities of Whites (as well as white-collar, corporate, and other forms of non-street crime) become invisible regardless of the harms incurred.” (Peterson & Krivo, 2006, p.359) According to the Center on Disease Controls annual Youth Risk Behavior Survey, African Americans report being in a physical fight at a similar rate (36.5%, versus 32.5% for whites), but were arrested for aggravated assault at a rate nearly three times that of whites (137 per 100,000, versus 48 per 100,000). (Jones, 2005) According to a report by Human Rights Watch: The burden of incarceration falls disproportionately on members of racial and ethnic minorities, a disparity which cannot be accounted for solely by differences in criminal conduct: black non-Hispanic males are incarcerated at a rate more than six times that of white non-Hispanic males and 2.6 times that of Hispanic males. One in 10 black males aged 25-29 were in prison or jail in 2009; for Hispanic males the figure was 1 in 25; for white males only 1 in 64. (2011) This magnanimous difference of rates of incarcerations between the three ethnic groups: is actually based on structured inequality in the justice system of USA. Factors, other than racial discrimination, are also responsible for the alarming growth of criminal prosecutions, convictions and life sentences for the Blacks. The education of African-Americans contrasts sharply with their white fellow citizens. “---- only 15% black males aged between 25-29 years graduated from national colleges; as compared with 25% of white males in the same age bracket.”(Bowen, Chingos & McPherson, 2009, p 30). Consequently, black representation in the legal system is very little- a mere 3% in the year 2010, according to Black Lawyers.Net. II. How the criminal justice system is work in the U.S The Pennsylvania study found that, controlling for other factors, including severity of the offense and prior criminal history, white men aged 18-29 were 38 percent less likely to be sentenced to prison than black men of the same age group. In addition, white men of this age group were sentenced to an average prison term that was almost three months shorter than that given to black men of this age group. Furthermore, black men aged 18- 29 were more than four times as likely to be sentenced to prison as white men over the age of fifty. (Kansal, 2005) The treatment of blacks in the correctional facilities is also adding to the woes and the miseries of the black population. “…56% of young Black men were under correctional supervision in Baltimore on any given day, and 42% in Washington, D.C., were in a similar situation (Miller, 1992). He explains that the “get tough” policies are taking an exceptionally heavy toll on Black men, their families, and their communities.” (Welch, 2007, p.281) Once African-Americans ended up in the justice system, they are “...were more likely to be detained pending trial, and as a result, received harsher sentences. Regarding the effect of the defense attorney on sentencing, a study released in 1996 found that whites were much more likely to hire a private attorney than blacks or Latinos, and that retention of a private attorney tended to result in less severe sentences.... ...The GAO report found that 82% of the studies surveyed concluded that the defendant had a greater likelihood of being sentenced to death if the murder victim was white than if the victim was nonwhite. (Kansal, 2005) Majority of the Blacks return to the justice system because they fall in the trap of criminal charges on account of their past criminal records. Moreover, owing to their socio economic conditions and lack of education, they are repeatedly charged with minor or major offences. Blacks have a very little representation in the judiciary: “Among all lawyers, Black/African-Americans comprise 3.9% … Hispanics comprise 3.3%.. Among judges, African-Americans comprise 1.7%, Hispanics comprise 4.5%...” (American Bar Association, 2005-2006) III. Compare and contrast why African American spend more time in Jail as to White and Hispanics White Americans constitute 72.4% of the total population in USA in 2010 (US Census Bureau). They are mostly populated in the north of USA and have majority of the white collar jobs, and representation in the senate and judiciary. They get due legal rights to defend themselves and do not have to face any sort of racial discrimination in the justice system. Hispanics are an ethnic minority mostly populated in the south of USA and they make up 16.3% of the total population in 2010 (US Census Bureau). Their socio economic conditions are slightly better than the blacks and overall, they are not as ethnically discriminated as the blacks. There are very little similarities between the three groups. As Americans, they have equal chances of growth and have the same rights to education, basic health and jobs. However, the circumstances that have developed due to racial discrimination have pushed blacks farther towards the wall. Their cultural differences are not that great so as to make them basis of alienating them from mainstream life. Similarly, the percentage of children under 18 years of age with a female householder or no spouse is the same for African-American and Hispanics- “51.9% in the year 2008” (NCHS). This is an alarmingly statistic as it shows the number of African-American and Hispanic families that are living below poverty level. “More than 4 in 10 fathers were black, about 3 in 10 were white, and about 2 in 10 were Hispanic”. (Glaze & Maruschak, 2008) There is a stark difference in the rates of graduating students between African-Americans and whites. “…on a national level African-American males graduated at a rate of 45%, while the graduation rate for white males were 70%. When one reviews the graduation rates of African-American males in each state, the disparity is startling…” (Weatherspoon, 2006) IV. Impact of African- Americans with criminal background in the community Residential segregation is the most common attitude of society towards black Americans with criminal background. Black communities are purposely isolated from mainstream opportunities of life and therefore, many of them do not feel a sense of belonging to their country or fellow citizens. Blacks are discouraged from settling in White neighborhoods in order to preserve the racial character of the area... In any case, Blacks lack equal opportunity in housing and are more likely to be tied to communities with multiple disadvantages, where the rates of unemployment, poverty, school dropout, family disruption, and teen pregnancy are disproportionately high. By blocking channels to social and economic mobility and undermining the legitimacy of established social norms, high rates of residential segregation are presumed to generate various forms of deviance and violent behavior. (Shihadeh & Flyn, 1996) Such blacks that have a record of misdemeanor have zero chances to earn a decent living. They cannot access schools, colleges, or white collar jobs. With such grim hopes of future, they actually land in more criminal offenses. The federal government may not hire people with misdemeanor records for myriad permanent jobs that are security related in the FBI, Secret Service, IRS and U.S. Marshals Service. In many states a misdemeanor record can bar a person from representing a client in court or working as a doctor or dentist, depending on the nature of the offense. The same is true for many school districts when a job involves dealing with children or money on a regular basis. …Meanwhile, private employers of all stripes ask job applicants whether they have been convicted of a crime, not always initially asking for an explanation. Nearly all employers do background checks on applicants, even on job seekers looking for internships. (Reginald, 2010) VII. Conclusion Social support can do wonders to treat behavioral problems that give rise to deviant activities and crimes. It is imperative to support the black community financially and elevate their socio economic conditions, so that they would want to give something back to their society. If all they receive is hatred, racial discrimination, alienation and no social support, then there is no hope that they would be tempted or forced into undertaking minor or major crimes. African Americans experience not only anger but also depression and anxiety in response to problems in their significant other’s lives as well as their own... The findings imply that those who have social support from other people are less likely to feel pressured to turn to undesirable, non instrumental coping strategies than those who lack such support... (Jang & Lyons, 2006, pp.266-267) The Justice system of USA should review its structured inequality against the blacks as “…a racialised form of imprisonment has been destroying the core of the black community in the United States since the end of the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1960s, when subtle forms of segregations replaced those of preceding decades in many urban black communities. They suggest that incarceration has taken over from official segregation policies”. (M’Baye, 2011) References Black Lawyers. Net. http://www.blacklawyers.net/ Bowen, William G.; Chingos, Matthew M.; McPherson, Michael, S. (2009) Crossing the finish line : Completing college at Americas Public Universities . Princeton, NJ, USA: Princeton University Press. Crutchfield, D. R., Fernandes, A., & Martinez, J. (2010) ‘Racial and ethnic disparity and criminal justice: How much is too much?’ The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 100(3), 203-232 Drug Courts Are Not the Answer: Toward a Health-Centered Approach to Drug Use. (2011) Drug Policy Alliance. Retrieved from http://www.drugpolicy.org/docUploads/DrugCourtsAreNottheAnswer.pdf Goal IX Report: 2005-2006. (February 2006). American Bar Association: Commission on Ethnic and Racial Diversity in Profession. Glaze, L.E., & Maruschak, L.M. (BJS Statisticians) Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. (August 2008). Parents in Prison and Their MinorChildren (NCJ 222984). U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs. Jones, Van. (5 October 2005). Are Blacks a criminal race? Surprising statistics. Huffpost Politics. US edition. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/van-jones/are-blacks-a-criminal-rac_b_8398.html 2 August 2011. Jang, J. S. & Lyons, A. J. (2006) Strain, Social Support, and Retreatism Among African Americans, Journal of Black Studies, 37(2), 251-274 Racial disparities in the criminal justice system. World Report 2011: United States. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved from http://www.hrw.org/world-report-2011/united-states Kansal, Tushar. (2001) RACIAL DISPARITY IN SENTENCING: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. The Sentencing Project, Retrieved from http: www.sentencingproject.org. M’Baye, Babacar (2011). The Myth of Post-Racialism: Hegemonic and Counterhegemonic Stories About Race and Racism in theUnited States. Critical Race and Whiteness Studies, 7 (Special issue: Post-Racial States), 1-25. National Center for Health Statistics. (2009). Health, United States, 2008 With Chartbook. Hyattsville, MD: U.S Department of Health and Human Services Peterson, R. D.,Krivo, L. J., & Hagan, J. (2006) Many Colors of Crime : Inequalities of Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America. New York, NY, USA: NYU Press. Ron, S. & Patrick, W. (2011). Recovering US job market is leaving black men behind. Christian Science Monitor. Shihadeh, S. E & Flynn, N. (1996). Segregation and Crime: The Effect of Black Social Isolation on the Rates of Black Urban Violence. Social Forces, 74(4), 1325-1352 US Census Bureau. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html. 03 June 2011 Weatherspoon, F. D. (2006). Racial Justice and Equity for African-American Males in the American educational system: a dream forever deferred. North Carolina Central University School of LawNorth Carolina Law Journal, 29 N.C. Cent. L.J. 1. Welch, K. (August 2007). Black Criminal Stereotypes and Racial Profiling. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 23(3), 276-288. Read More