Is the American Justice system fair to blacks

Essay by DaveyDHigh School, 12th gradeA-, January 2004

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A study by the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives found that 85% of all Washington, D.C., black males have been arrested at least once in their lifetimes. Obviously this shows that most black people are just a bunch of criminals and felons, right? Not in my opinion. One viewpoint, which is continuously argued throughout the country, is whether or not the criminal justice system is fair to blacks. Did you know that, in Dallas, if one were to rape a black woman, that person would get an average of two years in prison? Now if that same person had raped a white woman instead, he or she would have gotten an average of 10 years in prison. Nationally, murderers with white victims are 4.3 times more likely to be sentenced to death than murderers with black victims. The question stands, is the criminal justice system fair to blacks.

Blacks make up just 13% of the drug users in America, but they also make up 65% of those imprisoned for drug crimes.

More than 63% of public drug treatment slots go to whites. I think it is fascinating that blacks are treated this way, especially in a society that craves equal rights. I don't believe that very many people know or care about the stuff going on. The Uniform Crime Report statistics state that blacks are more frequently arrested than whites. While this may mean that blacks actually commit more crime, what are some other factors that may be driving the statistics? It is not a coincidence that minorities serve longer sentences, have higher arrest and conviction rates, face higher bail amounts, and are more often the victims of police brutality than white citizens. "On March 3, 1991, Rodney King was the driver of a car in Los Angeles, California,