ROUGH DRAFT REVISION INTO FINAL PRODUCT

Rough Draft Comment by Nygel: Please remember to complete the title, date and running head throughout the paper.

Lidia Williams

American Military University

Date:

Analysis of research regarding the criminal justice and racial profiling reveals that the system basically targets the African males. Recent research conducted by the African Civil Liberation Union (ACLU) and Mary Whinser from the School of Law in the University of Washington clearly reveal that the Criminal Justice System targets the African males when profiled through the race. The two researchers reveal that there although it is argued that racism has greatly decreased in the United States there still exist some racial disparities in various stages of the criminal justice system. The results of the researchers show that there is a need for reviewing the current criminal justice system in order to minimize racism that exists in the system. The current policies that exist in the criminal justice system need to be changed in order to change the face of the system that is seen to target the African males. Comment by Nygel: This is a good, strong abstract.

Keyword: racism, racial disparity, African Americans, statistics

The United States is the world’s leader in mass incarceration. Approximately 700 out of Comment by Nygel: Please begin each paragraph with an indent about 1/2 inch in from the left margin. This is the typical/default Tab.

100,000 Americans are currently incarcerated serving sentences in federal and state prisons

While mass Incarcerations rates in the United States are alarming, the problem of racial

disproportion of African American males within the rates of mass incarceration is equally if not

more problematic, as it sheds light on the unpleasant side of American Justice System. African Comment by Nygel: American justice system

Americans males are disproportionally incarcerated, making them targets for systematic abuse in

the hands of the American Criminal Justice system by way of the criminal justice process. The Comment by Nygel: This does not need to be capitalized. Comment by Nygel: This is a bold statement. I look forward to reading more.

criminal justice system is therefore racist in its practices and processes; it is institutionally

designed to systematically abuse and oppress African Americans males.

Comment by Nygel: There should not be an extra space between paragraphs. This should only happen with headings or subheadings to separate/divide paper into sections.

The criminal justice system is set in place to mitigate crime in a manner accordance with Comment by Nygel: In accordance… Remove manner

Constitutional rights of citizens. By design even criminals regardless of race are to be protected Comment by Nygel: By design, even criminals—regardless of race—are to be protected against abuse…

against abuse of prosecution powers or investigatory powers (Mann, 2011. The criminal justice

system is made up of three main parts: Courts that include judges and attorneys, law enforcement Comment by Nygel: ;

that includes FBI, police offices and Homeland Security department. Corrections including Comment by Nygel: ; and corrections, including…

probation, prisons, jails and parole (Petersilia, 2013). The three distinct agencies in the criminal

justice system operate under the rule of law in the society. However trough statistics and

quantitative data there are racial disparities that exist within the criminal justice system.

The legacies of segregation and slavery never ended with the Civil Rights Movement but

they have continuously affected the African male mostly through racial profiling on all levels in

the American society. African males are disproportionally denied access to educational and

economic benefits. They are robbed of their human dignity and civil rights and imprisoned by

the drug laws that are racist. Laws that are all to present within racially disproportionate Comment by Nygel: These laws are all-too-present within the racially disproportionate incarceration rates.

incarceration rates Comment by Nygel: Please add a citation or citations.

Mass incarceration rates peaked in the late 1970s to an all-time high. Soon after incarceration Comment by Nygel: Is the rate higher right now?

Trends began painting a very clear picture that while mass incarceration was the culprit it fell on

the backs of African Americans males. During this time race became a prominent part of the

conversation and the consensus was that in fact there was a problem; the issue race fit

more broadly into the general pattern, particularly when we quantify the disproportion. African Comment by Nygel: particularly when the disproportionality was quantified. Keep the past tense and also eliminate words like “we”.

Americans make up 12 percent of the American population. African American males however

make up 6 percent of the population yet account for 37 percent of all incarcerations in the United

States. Studies show that one in four African American males before the age of 25 can expect to

be involved to be in the criminal justice system to some cacity. Whether its prison, parole or

some type of supervision program. Notably statistics show that incarcerated males do not

account for the majority of violent crimes. 67 % of all incarcerated African American males are Comment by Nygel: You need citations to support this paragraph. Comment by Nygel: Yet, 67%... Do not begin a sentence with a numeral. Comment by Nygel: African-American males

in prison for drug related charges.

The War on drugs has been a driving force in the rising rates of minority incarcerations since

the 1970s.During the tenure of Presidents Nixon’s presidency, the war on drugs was declared, his

intent to punish anyone involved with drugs was very clear. He pushed to dramatically and

forcefully increase the presence of federal drug agencies in an effort to deter Americans from

drug use or distribution. His initiatives were met with the use of media outlets as well as heavy

police enforcement throughout The United States. However, the presences of federal agencies

had more prevalent presence in inner cities and poorer communities housing African Americans

in comparison to any other demographics.

Moreover, during the height of racial tensions in the United Sates a very strong argument was

raised by critics of the Judicial system that stated that judges were given too much

discretion when sentencing; sentences were either too harsh or too lenient for certain crimes

As a solution the government imposed what is known as minimum sentencing guidelines. These

guidelines were set to withstand prejudiced ruling based on color or race and serve as protective

measure from public perceptions. However, over time proved to be ineffective as they created an

increased disproportion; the guidelines were not used effectively and fairly and in accordance

with public interest. They were abused creating longer sentences for minorities in an array of

nonviolent crimes although these guidelines were originally created to remedy and mitigate

claims that the justice system was being disproportion and heavy handed in its sentencing of act

as a buffer against discretionary concerns.

Mandatory minimums however, have had a human cost and proven to not only be ineffective

in deterring crime but also creating racial disproportions in incarceration rates of minorities

particularly African American males and Hispanic males. United States sentencing commission

empirical analysis showed that crimes have had a particularly stronger impact on minorities in

2010 74.4% of federal drug offenders sentenced under minimum mandatory sentences were

black or Hispanic (Ghary, 2013). However, at the federal level there has been improvements at Comment by Nygel: Have

the federal level there has been a reduction of mandatory minimums as well as safety valve

provisions to give judges discretion in certain cases. On the local level at least 29 states have

rolled back mandatory sentences since 2000 (Subramanian, 2014). Though, none of these

provisions act retroactively to provide relief to the thousands of black men currently serving

disproportionally long sentences for minor drug offences.

There are many causes of racial disparity in the criminal justice system, they are myriad and

complex. While there is disproportionate offending for certain types of crimes there is also a lot

of discretionary decision making by actors, criminal justice officials in the system from arrest all Comment by Nygel: Please make sure to proofread for grammatical errors.

the way until sentencing such as police officer’s prosecutors. Judges that make discretionary

decision which produce racial result from racial profiling on the part of the police to charging

and plea-bargaining decision by prosecutors and sentencing decision by judges. While some

decisions may not be based on intentional discrimination they are based on unconscious bias and

these biased can lead to devastating results and creating and fortifying the racial disparity within

the justice system that supports a systematic abuse of African American.

Aside from minimum sentencing provisions, racial disproportionality is a direct contribution

of key players within the criminal justice system; judges, law enforcements personnel, district

attorney as well as arresting officers subsequently keep the disparity alive and well into the 21st

century though abuse of discretion. For example, according to studies African American males

do not account for the majority of violent crimes: they do not even come close (Campbell 2015).

Most sentences that’s are handed to African American males are incumbent on discretionary

decision of the key players in the criminal justice system.

The use of discretion has always been a topic of conversation in the context of racial

inequality and disparity in the criminal justice system. The amount of discretion given to key

players within the criminal justice system such as law enforcement, arresting officers, district

attorneys. Evidence of direct racial discrimination is evident in sentencing outcomes. African

are more likely to be disadvantaged in terms of sentences lengths than any other group. They are

also disadvantaged in the initial decision to incarcerate or not. Judges are more likely to rule less

favorably for African American males than they are for any other demographic within the united

states of America. As compared to 1 in 17 white males (Adelman, 2017). The statistics are stark.

The United States sentencing commission published a study stating that African American

men are receiving prison sentences that are 19 % longer than white males. Racial disparities

between whites and blacks have steadily increased through the year. For instance, in the year

1998 -2003 the percentage was 11%, between 2003 and -2004 the percentage dropped to 5%

however in 2005 it skyrocketed to 15% . The commission states that the spike in sentences was

caused by the Supreme court’s decision in United States vs Booker (Federal Sentencing

Commission 2008). The results of this case gave federal judges more discretion on sentencing

ultimately leaving it in to impose harsher or more lenient sentences. Before this decision federal

judges were required to abide by the Commissions sentencing guidelines. The commission also

cites this as one of the reasons why African Americans males harsher longer sentences in

comparison to whites. However, the sentencing decision by judges is usually at the tail end of the

criminal

justice process. Before sentencing occurs in the hands of a judge, there evidence of an even

more alarming racial trend perpetuated by prosecutors.

Prosecutors are said to have more power than a judge in the criminal justice system; their

charging decisions are key. Prosecutors are given ample amount of discretion in deciding who to

charge, what to charge them, and creating plea bargain options for defendants. Prosecutors are

uniquely situated to fix this problem. Prosecutors are the most powerful officials in the criminal

justice system. They make charging decision as well as plea bargaining decisions and those

decisions are the decision that really drive the criminal justice system. Prosecutors should

develop ways to doubt their won objectivity as well as and refrain from operation and basing

sentencing decision on implicit biases against African American males that are perpetuated by

society or experiences (Free, 20050. Prosecutors should be cognizant of their impact on the lives

of others and retain a count and trends of their sentencing trends within their organizations.

Scholar Sonja Starr conducted a study in which she followed cases of both African American

males as well as Hispanic and Caucasian throughout the entire criminal process using multi

organizational data in each case. She assured that all cases had the same mitigating factors such

as past criminal history to assure that perhaps while cases may look the same once they are at

the tail end of the criminal process to make a fair comparison of sentencing outcomes. She

subsequently discovered that although African American males and their white counterparts may

commit the same crime and have the same criminal history; their crimes were being placed

differently within sentencing guidelines. Regardless of controls placed in the study African

American males were 10% more likely to be given a harsher sentence (Rehavi, 2014).

Another important contribution driving racial disparities in the criminal justice system that

work to target African American males are systems such as plea bargaining in the hands of

prosecutors Please bargaining is method used by prosecutors to maintain leverage in the criminal

justice process. African American males are often coerced into accepting plea deals and agreeing

to shorter sentences in the hopes of avoiding longer ones as well as avoiding trial. The vast

majority of people in the justice system are poor and are not able to afford trials. Makin plea

bargains a way of life in the African American community and further driving racial outcomes

by way of socially unjust practices that target the poor. A study shows that 95% of disposition in

cases involving the incarceration o African American males if a result of a plea bargain

regardless of innocence or guilt. ( Savitsky, 2012).

Racial profiling of African American men is deeply rooted in the criminal justice system. It is

a practice that disproportionate targets a group based on race and pre-conceived notions of guilt

without actual evidence in the hands of police officers. Police officers are also given vast

amounts of discretion. Officers decide where to patrol and who to arrest. police officers are

oftentimes the face of the criminal justice system. However African American males are more

more likely to be stopped and frisked, searched or questioned or met with unwarranted

physical violence or killed that any other group in The United States.

Racial profiling of the African males is seen to occur in the following incidents: It has been

found out that at police stops whether on foot or in cars, African American males’ investigatory

stops to whites, are twice the rate. It has been proved that racial disparities are more rampant

during daytime in the traffic police check since the race can be viewed unlike at night

(Weitzer, 2010). Police searches are another place where racial profiling is persistent. African

males are given tickets at a higher rate compared to the whites. Searches at the police traffic

stops are three times more than those of the whites as well. Police using force during arrest is

another incident where African males are treated brutally on a racism profile than the whites.

Police use force on them such as dogs, pepper spray, Tasers and physical force. Juvenile arrests

among African male children and youth who are under the age of 18 years is twice higher than

that of American children for committing crimes in school. They are held in detention for a

longer period of time than the white kids in accordance with the sentencing project of juvenile.

As was in the cases of In the case of Amadou Diallo (1999), Patrick Dosrismond, Ouzmane

Zongo, Sean bell, Oscar grant Freddie gray, were all racially profiled and killed. While these

examples are not the norm, they are a very stark reality for African Americans males in their

daily interactions with law enforcement officers. Personal and a perpetuated culture of “Us. Vs

them” in a racial context has driven policing through America especially in African American

communities where biases often drive behaviors of police creating social tension and mistrust.

Communities are often not well represented in their perspective police departments further

creating divide between law enforcement and communities Systems of power in the united states

that lack accountability. Police officers acting badly is a symptom of the fact that there is no

accountability. The lack of accountability in the criminal justice system is fueled by a larger

culture in society which consistently validates it by constantly accepting poor behavior on behalf

of police as part of their job; creating mistrust between communities and the system.

The research by the American Civil Liberties Union collected case studies on life-without-

parole sentencing for nonviolent offenses and death penalty cases in order to prove that racial

bias and disparate still exists in the criminal justice system. The case studies were retrieved from

genuine sources such as the prison policy organization and sentencing project organization

among much more in order to prove that the criminal justice system mostly targets the African

males. Reports from the human rights and Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc were also

used as sources to reveal the estimate of the ratio of the population of the Whites and Africans

present in jail.The results of the study showed that there are significant racial disparities that

exist in the sentencing decisions in the U.S.A. It was revealed that the disparities in the criminal

justice system increased with the severity of the imposed sentence. The major causes of racial

disparities revealed from the study are as a result of the disparate treatments of the Black males

at the criminal justice system, which includes the stops and searches, arrests, trials, and

sentencing. The research argued that race in the criminal justice system matters a lot and

influences the decision imposed on the offender. The research revealed that an African male

offender is at a disadvantage when finding on the wrong side of the criminal justice system

(American Civil Liberties Union, 2014).

Whisner conducted a study to reveal that race still exists in the criminal justice system. She Comment by Nygel: (Year)

argued that people of color are overrepresented and treated differently in Washington State

prisons and jails. The study argued that both disproportionality and disparity exist in the criminal

justice system of Washington State. The study provides evidence that shows patterns of racial

profiling in Washington State, which gives substantial reasons that the African males are at a

disadvantage in the criminal justice system. Analysis of the drug enforcement patterns and police

stops in the state revealed that criminal justice system targets the male colored people especially

the Africans. The study further argued that police investigations, traffic offenses, and drug

possession and distribution are largely associated with race and ethnicity.

Various judges and lawyers were interviewed to reveal how the male minority offenders in

Washington State are perceived by the criminal justice system in the state. A group of twenty

male African citizens was also interviewed to give their opinion and perception of the criminal

justice system in Washington. Surveys were also conducted on various prisons and jails in the

state to give an estimate of the ratio of the African and White inmates present in these

institutions. Law casebooks and publications from federal state institutions were used to give an

estimate of the current state of racism that exists in the criminal justice system.

The study revealed that many male Africans believe that bias pervades the entire legal system

in Washington State. The group in return does not trust the court system when it comes to

resolving their disputes and administer justice. Analysis from the study further showed that the

African males receive disparate treatment and harsher sentences compared to the white male

offenders who have committed the same crime. The minority groups in Washington are treated

with disrespect and the police force engages this group with offensive behaviors. The male

Africans who rely on the public defenders argued that they are at a disadvantage since the

agencies

While statistics are stacked high to support the idea that the criminal justice system works to

victimize African American males perhaps the most critical in which these statistics affect this

particular demographic can be seen in their absence within the nuclear family. African

American males are more likely to be incarcerated than they are to be able to raise their children

creating a perpetual generational cycle of incarceration. Often times when African American

males are incarcerated their children are left fatherless. Fatherless homes is the greatest threat to

the African community. Children who grow up without a father are five times more likely to live

in poverty and commit crimes 9x ore likely to drop out of school and 20 times more likely to end up in prison (Defina, 2009).

In conclusion there is enough conclusive evidence by way of statistics that support that black

men in America are targeted by the criminal justice system by way of the criminal process

system. Judges prosecutors, police officers base their sentencing decision on racial biases that

often have racial outcomes. While many of these biases may not be intentional the outcomes are

devastating to the African American Community . (Work in progress)

References

Adelman, L., & Deitrich, J. (2017). Booker, judges, and mass incarceration. Federal Sentencing Rep orter, 29(4), 224. Comment by Nygel: Your hanging indents should only be 1/2 inch from the left margin, line above it.

Criminal Justice Formal Written Paper Rubric 100 points total

Content (Possible 50 Points): 42

Use of Sources (Possible 20 Points): 11

Grammar (Possible 20 Points): 13

Structure of the Paper (Possible 10 points): 8

Total Points Earned: 74