Source: forums.smitegame.com Racial tensions in the U.S. are due in no small part to the way minorities are treated and processed by the criminal justice system.
Did you know that the number of persons in U.S. prisons is more than 2 million—roughly equal to the entire population of Houston, Texas?
However, the massive U.S. prison population does not mirror the demographic profile of U.S. society. Instead, there is a stark pattern of racial disparity in the composition of the prison population.
The vast majority of U.S. prisoners are poor, uneducated, unskilled, emotionally or psychologically troubled, drug and/or alcohol dependent, and either Black or Latino.
The disparity in racial composition between prisoners and the general public is profound. Blacks and Latinos together comprise less than 30% of the general population but 70% of the U.S. prison population! How can this be?
Conventional–that is, uninformed–wisdom suggests that the reason Blacks and Latinos represent the majority of the prison population is that they commit the majority of all crimes in the U.S. That is simply not the case.
The reality is that Blacks and Latinos are differentially targeted and processed throughout the U.S. criminal justice system. The tremendous discretion afforded the police, prosecutors and judges at all stages of the criminal justice process—from arrest to incarceration and parole—allows Blacks and Latinos to be given harsher treatment than Whites who commit the very same crimes.
Consider these facts for drug crimes: Blacks make up 12% of the U.S. population and comprise 14% of all illegal drug users, but they represent 35% of all drug arrests, 55% of all convictions for drug crimes, and 75% of all those who go to prison for drug crimes. That is not equal justice for Blacks relative to other races. It is differential treatment based on being Black!
Disturbingly, racial disparity in criminal justice system processing exists for all crimes, including the most serious felonies such as rape and murder, as well. The official crime statistics reveal that racially biased patterns of treatment are very common throughout the criminal justice system and at all stages of the process due to the discretion given to criminal justice practitioners.
Lady Justice may be blind but she is certainly not color-blind. She sees race quite well, indeed. Her acute but sometimes prejudiced vision, unfortunately, leads her to differentially target and incarcerate many poor Blacks and Latinos.
The result is a prison population that does not fairly represent the true picture of racial make-up or criminal activity in the U.S. It is time to put an end to such biased practices and deliver justice fairly to all U.S. citizens regardless of race.
Dr. Scott Bonn is a criminologist, professor, best-selling author and TV analyst. Follow him @DocBonn on Twitter and visit his website docbonn.com