Racial Disparity in Incarceration

Paper Summary:

This paper claims that the rate of incarceration in the United States exhibits extreme racial disparity. The paper contends that the effects of racial disparity in incarceration reach much farther than the effects inside the social and economic structure of the prisons themselves and this disparity is likely to continue to feed itself through the societal effects to the whole population.

From the Paper:

"It has been clear for decades that the rate of incarceration in the United States exhibits extreme racial disparity. There are significantly more African Americans in the prison system than there are in the general population in fact, almost 50% of those incarcerated at any given time are black men and yet the U.S. population is comprised of only 12% African Americans. (Clear & Cole 2002, Chapter 19) Cole and Clear give three main explanations for this disparity, differential criminality among minorities, racist criminal justice system and lastly a racist general population. (Clear & Cole 2002, Chapter 19) Within all three of these arguments there is some limited validity, yet it is also clear that there is still problem in need of serious address. Racial disparity within prison and corrections in general is the most serious issue facing the corrections industry today. "

More papers on Racial Disparity in Incarceration:

• Persuasive Essay # 114618 : "Racial Disparity in Sentencing"
• Analytical Essay # 150121 : "The Controversy of Race in Criminology"
• Persuasive Essay # 106654 : "African-Americans and Criminal Justice"

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