Racism is all throughout the criminal justice system. Not only is it involved during sentencing, and prison but it’s also involved when it comes to police stops, getting out on bails, jury selections, parole and freedom, and much more. People continue to argue that the criminal justice system is not racist, but almost all the numbers say otherwise.
This article talks about racism and breaks down each section that I mentioned above, trying to prove that the system as a whole is completely unfair and favors whites over other minorities. One of the big issues involves the way on drugs. I have read in many articles, including this one, that 37% of people arrested for drug offenses are African Americans. While that number may not seem high, African Americans only comprise 13% of the US population as a whole. At the same time, white and blacks engage in drug offenses, possession and sales, at roughly a comparable rate. There are 14 different examples that this article talks about, from police stoppings, amount of time in prison, receiving a lawyer, to sentencing length, and much more.
There is a ton of proof in numbers and research that shows the criminal justice system is unfair to certain races. Although people continue to fight it, it will always be an issue and this article is just another article that continues to point out that it’s such a huge issue in society today.
Citation: Quigley, B. (n.d.). Fourteen Examples of Racism in Criminal Justice System. Retrieved April 28, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-quigley/fourteen-examples-of-raci_b_658947.html
Prison-industrial complex profits is one of the most vexing of all the problems associated with the system. Prisons, as an industry, have become a component of the for-profit sector. "Owners" can make a lot of money on incarceration--the higher the rate of incarceration, the more prisons, the more profit. Therefore, racism in the criminal justice system provides a steady stream of prisoners, ensuring profit. According to Senator Bernie Sanders, the two biggest prison corporations made 3.3 billion in 2012. One such company, the Geo Group, operates on four continents, including North America. GEO, listed on the NYSE, closed Friday $32.03, down .6%. I include this detail to emphasize that many people are stakeholders, literally, in GEO, and metaphorically in the contemporary enslavement of African American and Latino men (and women) and of immigrants. As a follow-up, I am doing research on my own pension accounts to make sure that I am not a stockholder.
ReplyDeleteSanders, Bernie. (Sept. 23, 2015) We Must End For-Profit Prisons. Huffington Post Politics: The Blog. Retrieved May 1, 2016 from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bernie-sanders/we-must-end-for-profit-pr_b_8180124.html
Wow, everything is about money. I'll check mine as well!
DeleteWell not everything but a lot. We know for example that residential segregation by race occurs even among the wealthy!
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