Minorities In Prison Research Paper

1540 Words7 Pages
Minorities in America’s Prisons Renita Redding ENG 122 Instructor: Sharon Linne November 23, 2014 Since the 18th century imprisonment has been the method of punishing crime in America. Today there are about two million people incarcerated in federal and state prison institutions in the United States (Page, Whetstone, 2014). The most alarming statistic associated with America’s prison population is the disproportionate number of minorities that are represented. According to Page and Whetstone, “the United States’ unprecedented expansion of imprisonment since the late 1970’s has disproportionately affected African Americans, intensifying inequality and transferring the way some people look at race issues”. Even though, there is an array…show more content…
It is a known fact that having a high school diploma can determine whether or not an individual is able to gain some type of employment. The lack of education is one of the main issues that contribute to minorities’ incarceration rate. Hammond, (2000) believes, “there is a real crisis with high number of minority young males, who drop out of school and wind up incarcerated”. The lack of education ultimately results in low skills and lack of employment. According to the American Academy of Political & Social Science, “America’s prisons and jails have become repositories for high school dropouts, thereby obscuring the degree of disadvantage faced by black men in the contemporary United States and the relative competitiveness of the U.S. workforce”. “Furthermore, evidence shows that spending time in jail affects future wages of minorities at a greater rate than white ex-cons” (2014). By no means, it should be suggested that because an individual is uneducated they will end up in prison. Although, the evidence does show that the majority of offenders are usually high school dropouts. According to Rumberger (2001), “intervention strategies should be put in place that focuses on providing resources that supports, strengthens, or restructure the families, schools, and communities of potential dropouts. The fact that dropouts leave school for a variety of reasons, services provided…show more content…
(2010). Racial and Ethnic Disparity and Criminal Justice: How much is too much? Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 100(3):903 Darling-Hammond, L. (200). New standards and old inequalities; School reform and the education of African American students. Journal of Negro Education, 263-287. Ewert, S., Sykes, B.L. & Pettit, B. (2014). The Degree of Disadvantage: Incarceration and Inequality in Education. Annals of the American Academy of Political & Social science, 651(1), 24.doi; 10.1177100027162.135503100 Fauchon, C. (2004).The Case against Profiling. International Social Science Review, 79(3) (4), 157-159. Howell, K. (2011). Criminal Law Issue: Featured Contributors: Fear Itself: The Impact of Allegations of Gang Affiliation On-Pretrial Detention. St. Thomas Law Review, 23620. Page, J., & Whetstone. S (2014), Beyond the Trial: The disproportionate imprisonment of African Americans. In Teaching Race and Anti-racism in Contemporary America. 35-41. Petersilia, J. (1985). Racial disparities in the criminal justice system: A summary, Crime& Delinquency, 31 (1), 15-34. Rumberger, R.W. (2001). Why students drop out of school and what can be

More about Minorities In Prison Research Paper

Open Document