The question of whether or not the criminal justice system is racist has been a continuous question for decades, and will continue on for a very long time. There has been many studies done in order to try and prove there is no racism involved in decisions in the criminal justice system, but there are many numbers that say otherwise. These numbers who there is a large difference in the way whites and blacks are treated.
The article “No, Justice is Not Colorblind’, looks at the data behind Americas prison justice system and how race may impact different peoples experience with it. For every statistic shown in this article, whites are always the favored race with lowers a lot lower than African Americans. Whether it’s the percentage of blacks and whites in prison, drug and marijuana arrests, encounters with police, or life sentences, the percentage for African Americans is never the lower number. These numbers also include police interactions, whether its field interrogations, observations, frisks, or even being pulled over. A recent study showed that blacks represent less than 1 in 4 residents in Boston, but from 2007 to 2010 they accounted for more than 3 of 5 police encounters. Although the criminal justice system continues to try and prove they are not colorblind, there are continuous articles and numbers like this that continue to prove opposite.
Cook, L. (2014, December 11). No, Justice is Not Colorblind. US News. Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/12/11/no-justice-is-not-colorblind
Two additional problems: no one is surprised anymore by these numbers and we are short on solutions (or short on political will to implement solutions)
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