2 Racial Disparities in Sentencing: Sentencing Post-2000s Student’s Name Department and Institutional

2

Racial Disparities in Sentencing: Sentencing Post-2000s

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Racial Disparities in Sentencing: Sentencing Post-2000s

The federal criminal sentencing system plays a major role in ensuring that federal courts within the United States offer equal and fair sentencing for similar offences by individuals with comparable criminal justice. Although the justice system has played its role in ensuring criminal offences are punished accordingly, it has determined a significant racial inequity in sentencing. It has been determined that Black and Hispanic men are sentenced for periods 20% and 5% longer than their white counterparts (Turner & Dakwar, 2014). Racial disparities in sentencing are a major problem affecting the judicial system in the United States. It has been determined that in addition to the disparities between white and black defendants, Native and Hispanic men have also been chosen to experience harsher sentences, especially young men.

The racial disparities in sentencing have been identified to be increasing based on the severity of the sentence being imposed. This problem has extended into the 2000s as the level of disproportionate representation of people of color among prisoners remains higher. For instance, the number of inmates serving death sentences without being granted parole has been determined to be higher among people of color, unlike the possibility of the same among those eligible (Turner & Dakwar, 2014). The disproportionality in sentencing has been determined to exist regardless of age. It has been determined to be higher among juvenile offenders, especially those sentenced to life and are not likely to receive parole. On the other hand, racial disparity in sentencing has been determined to be even higher among prisoners serving life and are not likely to receive parole due to nonviolent offenses. Reports indicate that despite African Americans only constituting 13% of the United States population as of 2009, they make up 23% of the prisoners serving life sentences (Turner & Dakwar, 2014). Additionally, blacks are reported to make up 56.4% of prisoners serving life imprisonment and less likely to receive parole and about 56.1% of prisoners who were serving life sentencing are less likely to receive parole following offenses committed at the age of under 18 years old. The overall population of prisoners serving life without the possibility of parole across the United States was determined to be mainly made up of individuals from the black community, showcasing the prevalence of racial disparities in sentencing in the U.S.

Sentencing in America in the 90s and 2000s

Life sentences have played a crucial role in the state sentencing structures throughout the 20th century. Life sentencing can be imposed in two ways: with the possibility of parole and without the possibility of parole. Throughout the 90s, “life” sentencing was interpreted to show the possibility of a shorter time in prison with the possibility of eventual release (Beck & Harrison, 2001). For example, as of 2013, the federal system was associated with parole reviews after an individual served at least 15 years. Although release was possible, an individual would remain incarcerated for the rest of their lives. The policy for release and time served varies from one state to the other. For instance, Louisiana implemented the “10/6” law in 1926, stating that life-sentence prisoners would be released after serving a decade (Kansal & Mauer, 2005). This law was implemented because these prisoners showcased good behavior during their time. However, as society and policies changed, by the end of the 1990s, the life sentences achieved another meaning, typically associated with life in prison.

The 1990s and 2000s were associated with a rapid increase in the total number of prisoners under the jurisdiction of the State or Federal correctional authorities in the U.S. It is estimated that about 1,381,892 prisoners were under these authorities by the year-end of 2000 (Beck & Harrison, 2001). The number the state disciplinary authorities added and the District of Columbia steadily remained unchanged. The prison population growth across the country was estimated to be around 1.3% in the 2000s. This figure is reportedly lower than the annual growth rate since 1990 (Beck & Harrison, 2001). Additionally, the prison population 2000 was reported to increase at the lowest rate since 1972, associated with the smallest absolute growth since 1980.

Exploration of the Systemic Racism Theory

Racial biases have been a major issue affecting American society over the years. It persists and penetrates societal structures, everyday interaction patterns, institutional structures, and individual mental structures (Banaji et al., 2021). Systemic racism is identified as operating with or without awareness and with or without intention. The judicial system has been recognized as one of the major departments affected by this issue, as evidenced by the disproportionate number of prisoners based on race in state and federal correctional facilities. The decisions made on judicial hearings are often influenced by responses based on socially defined racial categories. On several occasions, these responses are racialized, revealing the roots of racism based on how much it affects one racial group (Kansal & Mauer, 2005). Systematic racism can be controlled at the level of most behavior; however, the associated patterns might not be easily recognized by authorities and non-black people. Systematic racism is associated with a unified arrangement of racial discrimination and differentiation across generations. Therefore, it is important to understand the daunting challenges associated with systematic racism to comprehend and mitigate them.

Systematic racism perpetuates racial disparities following the disparate treatment of African Americans at every stage of the criminal justice system. This disparate treatment is associated with several aspects of the criminal justice system, including sentencing, trials, stops and searches, plea negotiation, prosecutions, and arrests. Such systematic biases have contributed greatly to the higher number of prisoners from minority groups like African American and Hispanic communities across state and federal correctional facilities. Race is an important aspect of the criminal process, including the charging phase, the quality of representation, and the provision of plea agreements. Each phase has a greater influence on whether an adult or juvenile defendant faces a potential life without the possibility of parole sentence. Systematic racism is at the core of these phases, impacting every aspect of decisions and agreements made in favor or against the defendant (Turner & Dakwar, 2014). Furthermore, racial disparities in sentencing have been determined to result from race-neutral sentencing policies. These policies are associated with crucial racial impacts, especially in the case of many drug policies and habitual offender laws. They impact policies like school drug enhancements, mandatory minimums, and federal policies implemented by Congress in 1986 and 1996. These policies created a 100-to-one-sentencing disparity at the time between powder and crack cocaine offenses.

Sentencing Post-2000s

Although racial and ethnic disparities are major problems that have persisted within the criminal justice system in the United States, research has determined that the gap between the rates of White and Black state imprisonments has narrowed over the subsequent years post-2000s. The Council on Criminal Justice findings suggest an improvement in equal sentencing over the years, with little impact on various racial systems associated with the past. According to the council, the rate of black adult imprisonment reduced greatly in the 2000s, unlike the previous era (Kansal & Mauer, 2005). Moreover, the disparities in the imprisonment rates between blacks and whites fell across all major crime categories, including public order, drug, property, and violence. Imprisonments related to drug offenses are reported to have recorded the steepest decline, dropping by about 75% (Kansal & Mauer, 2005). This drop accounted for almost half of the total decrease in the sentencing rate gap associated with Black and White people.

The 2000s era has been associated with policy changes and advocacy for equal judgment on similar offenses for all. These changes have contributed to several changes impacting the racial disparities in sentencing. Although Black still makes up the majority of the prison population, there has been a drop in the gap in prison admissions for Black and White people. For instance, in 2000, African Americans were 7.2 times more likely to be admitted to state prisons than White people (Kansal & Mauer, 2005). This likeliness reduced over the years, making 3.2 times more likely to be admitted by 2020. Also, the disparity between these two racial groups for drug and property crimes was nearly eliminated by 2020. Another fundamental change is the disparity in length of stay in prison. This crucial element was determined to have increased in the post-2000s era. Despite the changes, Black people will likely serve longer in prison in the post-2000s, unlike White people. Systematic racism and strict judgment against crimes related to drugs have been identified to be the major drivers behind the likelihood of longer stays for Black people.

Conclusion

Over several decades, people of color have been subjected to higher rates of sentencing by the justice system, unlike the general population across the nation. Racial disparity in sentencing is not a new issue in the country following its prevalence over the years. Sentences provided to Black males in the criminal justice system have been determined to be longer than those imposed on white males charged with similar crimes. Minority racial groups have always been subjected to higher odds of incarceration, unlike their white counterparts. Also, the minority groups are associated with longer sentences, unlike similarly situated white criminals. Although efforts have been implemented in the 2000s to address this disparity, further efforts are necessary to determine the drivers of this issue, including systematic racism, and to determine proper strategies to address this issue.

References

Banaji, M. R., Fiske, S. T., & Massey, D. S. (2021). Systemic racism: individuals and interactions, institutions and society. Cognitive research: principles and implications, 6(1), 82. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41235-021-00349-3

Beck, A. J., & Harrison, P. M. (2001). Prisoners in 2000. Washington, DC. https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/p00.pdf

Kansal, T., & Mauer, M. (2005). Racial disparity in sentencing: A review of the literature. Sentencing Project. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/uploads/764bf150-13d8-4330-b08b-b04ae313308f/disparity.pdf

Mackenzie, D. L. (2001). Sentencing and Corrections in the 21st Century: Setting the Stage for the Future. University of Maryland, College Park, Md., Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Evaluation Research Group. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=6dc6cf6a76a33392b6c2530f5106c7ea86b64b4b

Turner, J., & Dakwar, J. (2014). Written Submission of the American Civil Liberties Union on Racial Disparities in Sentencing. American Civil Liberties Union. https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/141027_iachr_racial_disparities_aclu_submission_0.pdf