Over the years, there has been a significant focus on the racial disparities among individuals that are confined to jails. According to research outcomes, there are indications of increasing number of Black Americans being taken to prison for committing various types of offences (Gramlich 2018). In some instances, the high number of incarceration has been attributed to racial discrimination hence increasing the probability of a specific risk being subjected to high instances in the long run (Lopez " Zarracina, 2017). On the other hand, the high number of individuals that have been subjected to the judicial system is attributed to external factors that make African Americans more culpable to the law enforcement agencies thereby increasing the rates of incarceration among the affected populace in the long run.
The main objective of this study is to assess the variations in the rates of incarceration among African Americans and other ethnic groups in the United States. Utilizing a series of studies, the analysis will seek to conduct a comparative evaluation of the research outcomes and show the discrepancies. Moreover, the study will incorporate the reasons that contribute to the high rates of prisoners from one racial group. Thereafter, potential solutions such as the establishment of policies will also be assessed and the most effective ones suggested for implementation (Gramlich 2018). The paper will focus on additional externalities such as the social and economic environment of the affected population and highlight the roles of the federal and regional governments in providing long-term resolution that will seek to minimize the rates of incarceration among African Americans.
According to a study by the National Registry of Exonerations, the analysis of years of data sought to determine how race influences convictions in the United States and whether someone can be later cleared of crimes that they did not initially commit. The research established that despite African Americans being only 13% of the American population, a majority of innocent defendants that have wrongfully been convicted was at a considerably higher rate. The significant data was evident in the number of individuals that had been convicted at some point and later on had their charges dropped due to their innocence (Gramlich 2018). To further highlight the variations in the rates of convictions in the United States, the report established that African Americans constituted 47% of the 1,900 exonerations listed in the National Registry of Exonerations. The information was based on data collected till the end of October 2016 (Lopez " Zarracina, 2017). Moreover, the outcomes indicated that more than 1,800 additional innocent defendnats had been framed for crimes in the past and concequently subjected to the country’s judicial process despite not having committed any crimes. The convictions were associated with crimes in 15 large-scale police scandals that had been utilized to target a specific ethnic grouping in the country. The outcomes further highlighted the challenges that African Americans are subjected to and the reasons behind the disparities in the rates of convictions in the United States.
Additional studies have also been conducted to establish how race can influence convictions. According to research findings, innocent black people were at increased risk of being wrongfully convicted of crimes compared to other racial ethnicities such as whites and Hispanics. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, African Americans were 7 times more likely to be convicted for murder despite being innocent. On the other hand, the information indicated that these individuals were also 3.5 times more likely to be convicted for sexual assault and a massive 12 times more likely to be convicted for drug crimes (Lopez " Zarracina, 2017). These research findings have highlighted the differences in the treatment that the specific ethnic groups have to contend with on a regular basis for crimes that they did not even commit in the first place.
With regards to the analysis of murder cases, the research process established that black people were more likely to be wrongfully convicted in comparison to white people. Moreover, African Americans were also disadvantaged as they had to spend additional time in prisons before they could be exonerated. According to research conclusions, “African Americans imprisoned for murder are more likely to be innocent if they were convicted of killing white victims. Only about 15% of murders by African Americans have white victims, but 31% of innocent African-American murder exonerees were convicted of killing white people” (Lopez " Zarracina, 2017). In terms of the conviction that led to murder, the National Registry of Exonerations state that “the convictions that led to murder exonerations with black defendants were 22% more likely to include misconduct by police officers than those with white defendants” (Lopez " Zarracina, 2017). Similar trends are also evident among cases of sexual assault and drug crimes.
Overall, the study based on the data from the National Registry of Exonerations provides a clear picture in which African Americans are disadvantaged within the criminal justice system and they end up being exposed to high possibilities of convictions. The disparities are also evident among individuals that were entirely innocent but had been convicted for crimes that they did not commit in the first place. The authors also stated that “the convictions that led to murder exonerations with black defendants were 22% more likely to include misconduct by police officers than those with white defendants.” The outcomes also differed sharply from crime to crime (Rushing, 2011). For instance, according to the researchers such as the National Registry of Exonerations, disparities existed due to the higher murder rates in the black communities. At the same time, it has been established that instances of misconduct and racism among law enforcement agencies also play a massive role for the high rates of convictions of African Americans for crimes such as drug abuse. To support these assertions, the researchers have pointed to the fact that police officers constantly subject black neighborhoods raids, arrests, and false confessions, witnesses identifying the wrong suspect as well as the preexisting racial biases among jurors and judges influencing convictions and sentences.
Having identified the massive disparities that exist between the exoneration rates of African Americans and other ethnic groupings, it is vital to identify the reasons for these differences (Younge, 2012). One major issue that has been raised in such instances relates to racial profiling and how it has been utilized to a great effect in the conviction of blacks. For instance, the Washington Post considered the inclusion of two primary experts Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, and David Cole, a Georgetown law professor (Rushing, 2011). The two individuals are credited with having conducted extensive research on the roles of race in incarceration and the long term implications of such outcomes. Based on the research findings of the two individuals, it is evident that equality is not practices by the law enforcement agencies.
According to the research outcomes by Mauer and Cole, it was increasingly likely for people of color to be stopped more frequently by the police compared to the Whites. The number of such cases was particularly higher in anti-drug efforts by the police and relevant authorities tasked with fighting the drug and substance abuse menace in the community in general (Rushing, 2011). In addition to people of color being stopped by law enforcement agencies, research also established that black neighborhoods have become increased targets of these government and regional administrators by focusing on the anti-drug efforts. Black men are also often charged and prosecuted under different conditions compared to their white male counterparts. In this case Mauer and Cole sought to discredit that the high number of incarcerations of black men is due to the high number of crimes committed by this populace.
To further discredit the myth of high number of black males in prison due to their tendency to engage in crime, Mauer and Cole point to the fact that despite the use of drugs being rampant among whites and African Americans, the latter were more than 12 times likely to go to prison than their white counterparts in 2013. Moreover, although African Americans only form an insignificant percentage of the American population, more than 34% of those convicted of engaging in drug offenses were African Americans (Rushing, 2011). Similarly, the ethnic group was also responsible for 45% of those incarcerated in state prisons for the same offenses. For Mauer and Cole attributed the differences in incarceration rates between whites and blacks to the means through which urban black communities are constantly policed. The two subsequently argue that, “police find drugs where they look for them” (Rushing, 2011). Consequently, inner-city, open-air drug markets are easily caught by the police compared to individuals that conduct their operations in suburban basements. The black American population is therefore at increased risk of being arrested by law enforcement agencies for drug offenses due to the constant policing that they have been subjected to over the years.
A report by the Wall Street Journal indicates that latest data from the New York Police Department for the first quarter in 2011 indicated that law enforcement agencies had been accused of stopping and frisking African Americans at a higher rate than Whites and Hispanics (Gramlich 2018). The police stated that they were executing their odious stop-and-frisk law. Some 50.6% of the 183,326 who had been stopped by the police and frisked in the first three months were Black. The disparities existed despite the fact that the African American composition of the city stands at 23%.
In conclusion, it is evident that disparities exist between the incarceration of African Americans and other ethnic groups in the United States. As such, there have been high number of convictions of blacks in the country. Despite the fact that the African American population only accounts for a small portion of the nation’s population, the percentage of individuals in prison is significantly higher than other ethnic groups. Similarly, the number of African Americans that have been convicted falsely is also higher than other races, thus indicating the unjust system that Blacks are exposed to in the long run.
References
Gramlich, J. (January, 2018). The gap between the number of blacks and whites in prison is shrinking. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/12/shrinking-gap-between-number-of-blacks-and-whites-in-prison/
Lopez, G. " Zarracina, J. (May, 2017). Study: black people are 7 times more likely than white people to be wrongly convicted of murder. Vox. Retrieved from: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/7/14834454/exoneration-innocence-prison-racism
Rushing, K. (June, 2011). The Reasons Why So Many Black People Are in Prison Go Well Beyond Profiling. Huffingtonpost. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/keith-rushing/the-reasons-why-so-many-b_b_883310.html
Younge, G. (January, 2012). For too many African-Americans, prison is a legacy passed from father to son. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jan/15/jail-reflects-collapse-black-communities-us
