Disparities In The Judicial System

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What Is Your Label? Rebecca Miller ENG122: English Composition Stephanie Velona February 18 2013 What Is Your Label? Although the way the judicial system operates is correct in how it sentences, if we considered ourselves "Americans" without the hyphen, there would be less discrimination towards minorities in minor crimes and could focus more on the major crimes. Looking at others regardless of the race of the accused, could change the disparity of minorities in prison. Although in a sports event, the more points you get, you win, in the judicial system the more points the defendant tallies up, the longer the defendant’s sentence for minor crimes. From the document “Prison Time, Fines and Federal While Collar Criminals: The Anatomy…show more content…
Since we looked at the different races in prisons to the percentage of each, and if I was to go even deeper to see the percentage of each who are affiliated in a gang or a low income household, the evidence of police officers posting up in areas where they know they will have the most arrests, is accurate. When you take a look at the FBI reports and they are saying that 83% of drug arrests are for only possession of illegal drugs makes you wonder why it’s such a high rate? The FBI also states that no matter what the crime is in a certain jurisdiction, the police go after the same neighborhoods to make the same drug arrests which then show why there is a disparity of incarceration of people of color. Usually those crimes are towards the low income areas where there is a lack of school, no jobs, and the only way they make their money is drug dealing and the police know that. It’s an easy target. Being a hyphenated country, it gives everyone a chance to separate ourselves from others, but if you were born in America shouldn’t it just be “American? Then we wouldn’t be able to say that there is a disparity of minorities in the prisons, and no matter what the crime, minor a major, you are sentenced the same, and labeled the…show more content…
Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology96. 2 (Winter 2006): 757-793 http://search.proquest.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/socscijournals/docview/218441293/abstract/13C2770625A786513EC/1?accountid=32521# Linking Racial Identity, Ethnic Identity, and Racial-Ethnic Socialization: A Tale of Three Race-EthnicitiesFrench, Sabine Elizabeth ; Coleman, Brett Russell; DiLorenzo, Melissa Lee. Identity13. 1 (2013): 1. http://search.proquest.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/socscijournals/docview/1284158629/13C2770631034C95C17/3?accountid=32521# Americas one million nonviolent prisoners Irwin, John; Schiraldi, Vincent; Ziedenberg, Jason. Social Justice27. 2 (Summer 2000): 135-147. http://search.proquest.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/socscijournals/docview/231911253/13C277063984D8356F3/4?accountid=32521# Lock ‘em up, throw away the key New Statesman & Society; Apr 1, 1994; 7, 296; ProQuest Social Science Journals pg.20 http://search.proquest.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/socscijournals/docview/224396660/13C2770642819C157BB/5?accountid=32521# http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Prisons_and_Drugs Get the facts
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