The American Injustice System: Unequal Treatment Of White And Non-white Americans

A blindfolded lady holding scales and a sword, this is the metaphorical embodiment of Justice. The parts of this portrayal make a reasonable and adjusted equity framework insofar as the framework tails them. The scales speak to adjust, in which each bit of proof for and against the blamed is for equivalent weight. The blindfold portrays that the organization of equity will be regardless of status, riches, or influence. The sword speaks to power and quickness in that equity is to be quick and last. The American equity framework, in any case, is once in a while quick nor last for those that enter the framework; individuals are spending their lives in jail for peaceful violations, courts issue harsher sentences to individuals other than Whites, and recidivism rates are higher than some other first world country. To carry parity to the American equity framework we have to address these issues, and keeping in mind that the way to a reasonable framework might be long, we as a country must request legitimate equity from our equity framework.

Nonviolent Incarceration

Hawaii is the 40th most populated state in America with an expected 1,427,538 individuals, as indicated by the US Census Bureau's yearly report for 2017. Contrast that with the US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics report from December 2016 expressing that there were an expected 1,505,400 individuals imprisoned in state and government remedial offices. Recently let that sink in, more individuals live in jail in the United States than live one fifth of the States. In this state estimated populace peaceful wrongdoers represent over 60%. Compared to other developed nations America has more people incarcerated per 100,000 than any other by more than 1.5 times. Ought to peaceful criminals go to jail? Completely, wrongdoing merits discipline. Be that as it may, that discipline ought to have an end state and it ought to be rehabilitative in nature. For in excess of 3,000 individuals condemned without the likelihood of parole, and perhaps up to 100,000 more that have minimal possibility of being paroled, that discipline will end when they kick the bucket. Reasonable and adjusted discipline for the wrongdoing submitted is the thing that the equity framework should give, yet losing as long as you can remember for sharing LSD at an Appreciative Dead show, or shoplifting three belts from a retail chain is neither reasonable nor adjusted.

Required least sentences are in charge of a huge level of the jail populace serving life sentences, making a state where an individual can go to imprison forever and never again observe the outside of the jail dividers over endeavoring to money a stolen check. Another segment of this developing populace originates from six states and the government framework that all have canceled the likelihood of parole forever sentences.

Sentencing Disparity

Fifty-four percent of the prison population is White and sixty-one percent of America is White. Thirteen percent of America is Black and thirty-eight percent of the prison population is Black. These numbers do not add up to a balanced system. If they did the population of prisons would be a lot closer to the racial distribution of the rest of the country, thirteen percent Black and sixty-one percent White. The population data taken independently would suggest that Black Americans commit more crimes and thereby have a larger percentage. This cannot be further from the truth. Take for example illicit drug use and conviction. According to the NAACP:

• In the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 17 million Whites and 4 million African Americans reported having used an illicit drug within the last month.
• African Americans and Whites use drugs at similar rates, but the imprisonment rate of African Americans for drug charges is almost 6 times that of Whites.

With similar usage rates, arrest and conviction for illicit drug crimes should be the same but the fact remains that they are not.

Recidivating

Recidivism is the arrival to crime after a remedial period, and in America, the pace of recidivism is higher than some other first world countries. For instance, the normal time for government ex-convicts from discharge to reincarceration was 21 months during an 8-year study led by the US Condemning Commission. Recidivism in America comes from the longing to rebuff rather than restore crooks. It is actually nothing unexpected that such a significant number of individuals come back to wrongdoing, in America, having a record decreases the probability of a vocation callback or offer by as much as 50 percent, with an about twofold negative effect for Dark Americans contrasted with whites. Bosses reserve a privilege to realize that they are enlisting somebody that has exhibited criminal limit before, yet they ought to have confidence that the equity framework has appropriately restored them. Unfortunately, this isn't the situation and when there is no lawful path for an ex-convict to help themselves or their families, there is no place for them to turn aside from back to wrongdoing so as to endure. It’s a well known fact that higher paces of training decrease criminal activities. However, in America, the training programs for convicts are as often as possible defunded.

Counter Arguments

There are those that believe that these injustices are actually just. Some may argue that nonviolent crimes are still crimes. To that I say, nonviolent crimes are still crimes and there should be time spent to correct and atone for the crimes that are committed. However, the timeframes that are outlined for multiple offenders take things like a single joint on your person, and make them equal to First Degree Murder in terms of sentencing. Moreover, these actions place additional strain on the prison system, when education and counseling would be a more effective corrective means. Others may argue that non-white Americans commit more crimes and are thereby justly imprisoned; this is also a fallacy. While it is true that some crimes are more prevalent in non-white Americans than in white Americans, according to the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting for 2016 69.6% of all recorded crime was from white offenders. This means that statistically speaking white Americans are far more likely to commit a crime than nonwhite Americans are.

Still others believe that criminals cannot adapt to life outside prison, which is why recidivism is high so why waste money on trying to help them? I have to admit that some criminals do often have difficulty returning to a life without crime. However, this does not mean that they are incapable of adapting; it means that the system does nothing to help prevent their return. A 2013 study by the RAND Corporation found that for every dollar spent on correctional education, $4.55 to $5.26 was saved in future incarceration costs. In fact, according to Emory University’s Department of Economics 'Prisoners who complete some high school recidivate at an average rate of 55%; with vocational training, recidivism falls to 20%; and the rate keeps dropping with each additional level of education obtained.'

Conclusion

The system is broken, and these are just a few examples of just how broken the American justice system truly is. So how can we fix the broken American Justice system? Tackle each piece individually but with equal favor. To fix the numbers of nonviolent offenders that are clogging the system, the justice system needs to eliminate the mandatory minimum sentences and reserve life without parole for those heinous crimes in which others are harmed. These acts ensure that justice remains properly balanced to the crimes committed.

Racial uniqueness in condemning is a moving point to address. It assumes individual liability from those that are administering condemning to perceive that bias is influencing their choices. For those that can't perceive and recognize their partiality, expulsion from the framework is required. Authorizing term limits for sitting judges at all levels, will guarantee a reliably revived pool of legal authorities is loaded with convictions that are progressively present day and diminished in bias. To decrease the recidivism rate, legislators at all levels need to reenact, improve, and increment the quantity of convict instruction programs. Restorative establishments should be only that, remedial. Locking somebody away for quite a long time yet not helping them abstain from coming back to criminal acts isn't restorative, it is discipline for the good of punishment.

References

1. American Civil Liberties Union. (2013). A LIVING DEATH, Life without Parole for Nonviolent Offenses. New York, NY: American Civil Liberties Union Foundation. Retrieved, from https://www.aclu.org/files/assets/111813-lwop-complete-report.pdf
2. Carson, E. A. (2018). Prisoners in 2016. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved, from https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/p16.pdf
3. Deady, C. W. (2014). Incarceration and Recidivism: Lessons from Abroad. Newport, Rhode Island: PELL CENTER for INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS and PUBLIC POLICY. Retrieved from http://www.salve.edu/sites/default/files/filesfield/documents/Incarceration_and_Recidivism.pdf
4. Federal Bureau of Investigations. (2017). FBI: UCR. Retrieved from FBI.gov: https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/topic-pages/tables/table-21
5. Federal Bureau of Prisons. (2018). Inmate Race. Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved February 7, 2018, from https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_race.jsp
6. Federal Bureau of Prisons. (2018, January 28). Offenses. Retrieved, from bop.gov: https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp
7. Hunt, K. S., & Dumville, R. (2016). Recidivism Among Federal Offenders: A Comprehensive Overview. Washington, DC: UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMISSION. Retrieved, from https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and-publications/research-publications/2016/recidivism_overview.pdf
8. Landeros, K., & Armstrong, S. (2017, April 6). Infographic: Incarcerated Adults in the United States. Retrieved, from https://www.air.org/resource/infographic-incarcerated-adults-united-states
9. NAACP Criminal Justice Department. (2017). Fair Chance Hiring Factsheet: At the Intersection of Race, the Criminal Justice System, and Employment Criminal Justice. NAACP Criminal Justice Department. Retrieved , from http://www.naacp.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/FCH-Fact-sheet-rev.-5-5-17.pdf
10. The Sentencing Project. (2017, April). International Incarceration Rates. Retrieved February 8, 2018, from sentencingproject.org: https://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/international-incarceration-rates.png
11. United States Census Bureau. (2016). Population estimates, July 1, 2016, (V2016). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045216
12. United States Census Bureau. (2017). Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2017. Washington, DC. Retrieved, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/tables/2010-2017/national/totals/na-est2017-01.xlsx
13. Zoukis, C. (2015). Pell Grants for Prisoners: New Bill Restores Hope of Reinstating College Programs. Prison Legal News, 26(August, 2015), 32-35. Retrieved from https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/media/issues/08pln15.corrected.pdf