The Sentencing Of African Americans - 1626 Words

African Americans now constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated; that is 60% of 30% of the African American population. African Americas are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites. â€Å"Between 6.6% and 7.5% of all black males ages 25 to 39 were imprisoned in 2011, which were the highest imprisonment rates among the measured sex, race, Hispanic origin, and age groups. (Carson, E. Ann, and Sabol, William J. 2011.) Stated on Americanprogram.org â€Å" The Sentencing Project reports that African Americans are 21 percent more likely to receive mandatory-minimum sentences than white defendants and are 20 percent more likely to be sentenced to prison.† Hispanics and African Americans make up 58% of all prisoners in 2008, even though African Americans and Hispanics make up approximately one quarter of the US population. (Henderson 2000). Slightly 15% of the inmate population is made up of 283,000 Hispanic prisoners. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, every third black male gets sent to prison at least once in his life. Males of color have a disproportionate number of encounters with law enforcement, indicating that racial profiling continues to be a problem. African Americans are twice as likely to be arrested and close to four times as likely to experience the use of force during encounters with the police. â€Å"In Newark, New Jersey, on the night of June 14, 2008, two youths aged 15 and 13 were riding in a car driven by their footballShow MoreRelatedThe War On Drugs : American Foreign And Domestic Policy1676 Words   |  7 Pagesagencies, and pushed through measures such as mandatory sentencing and no-knock warrants. . The War on Drugs has been a centerpiece of American foreign and domestic policy. The rhetoric of war shaped the impact of methods. Not only does war require military strategies, but an enemy as well. In this case it was easy to construct African Americans and people of color as the enemy i n the War on Drugs. These are the groups that the majority of white Americans have always viewed as the source of crime. PresidentRead MoreSentencing Of Sentencing And Sentencing Essay920 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Sentencing bias occurs in most of the court cases in the United States of America. Sentencing bias can include races such as Hispanic/Latino, Asian Americans, White Americans, and Native Americans. This brings us to talk about sentencing disparities? In which a court case trial is not treated the same or it is treated differently than other cases. However, who faces the most disparities in sentencing? Could it be African American’s who face’s the most trends and Asian American’s theRead MoreThe Drug Enforcement Agency ( Dea )1574 Words   |  7 Pagesunequally under the law but we are adding to the issue of mass incarceration. The Fair Sentencing Act, which will reduce the amount of people who are sentenced to prison for crack and powder cocaine is beneficial because prisons have become so overcrowded and so many people have been sentenced to jail unfairly and are serving ridiculous sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. According to the United States Sentencing Commission in November of 1988 the Anti-Abuse act made a simple possession of crackRead MoreAfrican Americans And The Juvenile Justice System1248 Words   |  5 PagesRace and Sentencing It has been brought up that certain race and ethic affects a person’s sentencing. Many studies have addressed the question are African Americans treated more severely than similarly situated whites? (Mitchell, 2005). Observers had indeed noted that black defendants get more severe sentencing than white defendants do (Spohn, 1981). For many years’ social scientist has examined this theory and came up with three explanations, racial discrimination, Wealth discrimination, andRead MoreThe Bias And Discretion Of The Sentencing Process1415 Words   |  6 Pagesit comes down to sentencing. So, are we saying the judges are racist? This learner hopes not, but she cannot help but wonder if they are just based on the number of African American that is housed in our jails/prisons. There just seems to be an overwhelming amount of us incarcerated verses Caucasians. It is also amazing that some of the sentencing time that judges past down for the same type of criminal act (e.g., bur glary, auto theft, etc.) seems to be worst for African Americans more than thereRead MoreAfrican American Men And The United States Prison System1422 Words   |  6 PagesAfrican American Men and the United States Prison System There is a racial connection between the United States criminal justice system and the overrepresentation of black men in the United States prison system. There are over 2 million people in the U.S. prison system exceeding that of any other nation and represents 25% of the world’s prisoners (The Sentencing Project, 2016). According to Prison Policy Initiative, African American communities are the most impacted with African American men representingRead MoreSentencing Of The Criminal Justice System Essay1514 Words   |  7 PagesSentencing criminals in court is not the easiest thing to for anyone involved, it’s usually a lengthy process that must go through examining evidence, interviewing witnesses and of course listening to the defense. When an offender has been found guilty, a judge must decide what their retribution will be, usually referring to set guidelines. These guidelines help judges decide what punishment would be best based on the offense, criminal history, whether a weapon was used, and many other facts. TheseRead MoreRacial Discrimination807 Words   |  4 Pageseffect on the lives of African-Americans and Hispanics. From policing to trial to sentencing, racism against minorities occurs throughout the entire process in the criminal justice system. This research paper will outline some of the aspects and evidence of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. ​Keywords: criminal justice, discrimination, profiling, sentencing Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System ​Minorities, particularly African-Americans and Hispanics, are targetedRead MoreThe Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Laws1613 Words   |  7 PagesCurrent mandatory minimum sentencing laws are in dire need of reform. A mandatory minimum sentence is a court decision where judicial discretion is limited by law. As a result, there are irrevocable prison terms of a specific length for people convicted of particular federal and state crimes. As of January 2014, more than 50 percent of inmates in federal prisons are serving time for drug offenses, and more than 60 percent of people incarcerated are racial and ethnic minorities. The use of safetyRead MoreMandatory Minimum Sentences For Nonviolent Drug Crimes Essay1644 Words   |  7 Pagesof the partisan prosecution with the expansion of mandatory sentencing. Mandatory minimum sentencing is a system which sets minimum jail sentences for crimes, which not even judges can overturn. In the decades after the 1950s, with the increasing war on drugs, minimum sentencing laws have spread further and further into nonviolent drug related crimes, the effects of which have been almost universally negative. Mandatory minimum sentencing for nonviolent drug crimes has proved to be a cost ineffective