Sociology

Introduction:

As a godmother of 3 young black boys I often think of their futures and that in todays society at least one of them is expected to go to prison at some point in their life brings me to tears. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one in three black men can expect to go to prison in their lifetime.
While people of color make up about 30 percent of the United States’ population, they account for 60 percent of those imprisoned. The disproportionate rates of incarceration in communities of color is a direct reflection of racial disparities in the criminal justice system in the United States.

Body:

As children black boys become aware of inequalities when it comes to discipline between them and their white counterparts very early.
a. Harsh school punishments, from suspensions to arrests, have led to high numbers of youth of color coming into contact with the juvenile-justice system and at an earlier age.
Black youth receive harsher treatment even if their grades or criminal histories are better than their white peers.

The criminal justice systems focus on inner city crimes as been a contributing factor to disparities in arrest, conviction rates and sentencing for African Americans.
The effects of initiatives like “Get tough on crime” and “war on drugs” in black communities have been tragic.
Once convicted, black offenders receive longer sentences compared to white offenders.

III. The facts are clear the inequality in our justice system is unnerving. Have we as a society made any progress to reduce the disparities and what more can be done?

In 2010, Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA), the law reduced the disparity between the amount of crack cocaine and powder cocaine needed to trigger certain United States federal criminal penalties
We can improve by starting with law enforcement, racial disparity can sometimes begin with discretionary decisions by law enforcement.

Conclusion:

Racial disparities in the criminal justices system is yet another indication that, as much as we like to think racism is no longer a factor, we still have a long way to go. It’s hard to believe that in the year 2013 my godsons are living in a country whose justice system is set up for them to be treated unfairly. Is there hope for our young black boys? Will educating and training our law enforcement against stereotypes, addressing laws that allow inequality in convictions and sentencing give them a better chance when in the system?

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Introduction

As a godmother of 3 young black boys I often think of their futures and that in today’s society at least one of them is expected to go to prison at some point in their life brings me to tears. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one in three black men can expect to go to prison in their lifetime.

While people of color make up about 30 percent of the United States’ population, they account for 60 percent of those imprisoned. The disproportionate rates……………….

APA

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