Black Rapists

Paper Summary:

This paper traces the disparate treatment of black rape offenders by the U.S. judicial system in the days of black slavery and the post Civil War period including legalized lynching. The author points out that, even in today's courtrooms, black men still receive longer prison sentences than white men when they are convicted of rape. The paper concludes that the disparate treatment of black rape offenders and family abusers by the judicial system also creates a "double bind" situation in which exposing the abuse risks having the husband's financial support withdrawn while he is in jail.

From the Paper:

"During those dark days, an aggressive mob often awaited the results of a rape trial, a threatening presence that reminded the judicial system that if the black suspect was not convicted of the crime, they would take the law into their own hands and punish the acquitted man themselves. Special doctrinal rules were also enforced such that in one example, court juries were allowed to consider the race of the defendant in their assessment of his criminal intent."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Andersen, Margaret L., and Collins, Patricia Hill. Race, Class and Gender: An Anthology (6th Edition). USA: Thomson Learning, 2006.
• Frye, Marilyn. The Politics of Reality. New York: The Crossings Press, 1983.
• Profitt, Norma Jean. Women Suvivors, Psychological Trauma and the Politics of Resistance. Canada: Haworth Press, 2000.
• Wriggins, Jennifer B. "Rape, Racism and the Law." Harvard Women's Law Journal. (1983): <http://mainelaw.usm.maine.edu/jennyharvardwomen'slawjournalarticle.pdf>

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