More than two-thirds of the individuals who are in prison are racial and ethnic minorities, and for African American males in their twenties, one in every eight is in prison or jail on any give day (Sentencing). An African American male born today has a one in three chance of being incarcerated during his lifetime, compared to a one in seventeen chance for white males (Sentencing). These trends have been exacerbated by the impact of the “war on drugs,” with roughly three-fourths of all drug offenders being persons of “color,” which is vastly out of proportion to their share of drug users in society (Sentencing). Racial disparity in the criminal justice system is a product of higher rates of involvement in some offenses, social and economic disparities, legislative policies, and the use of discretion by criminal justice decision-makers
More than two-thirds of the individuals who are in prison are racial and ethnic minorities, and for African American males in their twenties, one in every eight is in prison or jail on any give day (Sentencing). An African American male born today has a one in three chance of being incarcerated during his lifetime, compared to a one in seventeen chance for white males (Sentencing). These trends have been exacerbated by the impact of the “war on drugs,” with roughly three-fourths of all drug offenders being persons of “color,” which is vastly out of proportion to their share of drug users in society (Sentencing). Racial disparity in the criminal justice system is a product of higher rates of involvement in some offenses, social and economic disparities, legislative policies, and the use of discretion by criminal justice decision-makers