Racial Disparity in Sentencing

RACIAL DISPARITY IN SENTENCING

In this paper I will demonstrate racial disparity in sentencing in the criminal justice system. The causes of racial disparity and the research statistics, the reason it is on the rise and the proposed solutions are discussed. Along with the different sentences that different races receive when it comes to sentencing and the death penalty. In addition this paper will talk about the racial disparity and the sentencing refom act. Racial disparity in sentencing continues to be an ongoing situation within the criminal justice system. The disparity in criminal sentencing is when an individual commits a similar or the same criminal act that results in acquiring different sentences upon conviction (Jones-Brown, 2002). The connection with the racial issues in the criminal justice system has been going on for a period of time. In earlier times, courtrooms in many jurisdictions were comprised of all white decision-makers. Today, there is more diversity in the criminal court system, as well as in the leadership but race still plays a critical role in many criminal justice outcomes. This ranges from imposition of the death penalty based on the race of the victim or the offender to disparate traffic stops because of racial profiling.

Young, black, and Latino males (especially if they are unemployed) are subject to exceptionally harsher sentencing compared to other criminal populations. Black and Latino defendants are more underprivileged when compared to Whites with regard to legal-process related factors such as the “trial penalty,” sentence reductions for considerable assistance, pre-trial custody, criminal history and type of attorney. When Black defendants are convicted of harming White victims they suffer harsher penalties than blacks do when they commit crimes against other Blacks or White defendants who harm other Whites. Black and Latino defendants tend to be sentenced more strictly than comparably placed White defendants for less serious crimes, particularly drug, and property crimes. In 1998 a national picture shows an suggestion that African Americans account for about, 49% of adults in prison, 35% of adults on probation and about 44% of the adults on parole (Jones-Brown, 2002). Some studies indicate that the prison population have been on the rise for number years, and continues to climb. From 2001 to 2004 the studies concludes that the prison populations have grown by two million incarcerations (Mauer, 2004). Marc Mauer breaks down his numbers like this: one in every African American male between the ages of 25-34 are put behind bars on any day, and about 32% of the AfricanAmerican males born today will do some time in a prison during his lifetime (Mauer, 2004).

The reason behind why racial disparity continues to grow is for four reasons. The four reasons would jury selection and venue, unsuccessful assistance by attorney’s and procedural bar, prosecutorial

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