Conversation Of The Week XLVIII: The Science Of African-American Justice Reforms

This article makes some very good points. I definitely agree that we should avoid placing youth in adult prisons, and that the courts should especially avoid confinement for non-violent crimes. It is very unsettling to hear that minority youth are treated more harshly than white youth when the same crimes are committed. I had the opportunity to attend a lecture by Dr. Eddie Moore, the founder of the White Privilege Conference a few weeks ago. During his lecture he spoke of the concept of the “Inevitable Black Criminal.” The idea is that we have a tendency to relate the “Criminal” to a person of the African American race. We also have a tendency to relate persons of the African American race to being “Problems.” When we think of “Problems” we think of “Criminals.” Essentially Criminal = African American = Problem and Problem = Criminal = African American, and the cycle continues to repeat until the African American has become “The Inevitable Black Criminal.” This also plays into the concept of invisible privileges. White people do not have to worry about things like being pulled over because of their skin color. I’m sure that minority youth are treated more harshly than white youth because of the racism that persists in our society today. Perhaps they are also treated more harshly because the idea that minorities are more likely than those of the elite white race to commit crimes in the first place has become deeply ingrained in the psychology of our society. If we were able to reduce the rate of confinement for non-violent crimes and put that money toward education, I believe that it would perpetuate a positive cycle that could only work to reduce the rate of crime in the future. With an increase in the availability of education to a greater number of minorities, there would be an increase in the exposure to positive peer interaction. As the article says, participation in school and peer interaction is closely related to the development of “decision-making and critical-thinking abilities.” I believe that decision making and critical thinking may play a major part in the distinction between committing a crime or refraining from doing so.

In reading during other classes concerning minorities and the criminal justice system, we need to look at drug reform laws. For instance, the 100:1 crack cocaine ratio (now the 18:1 crack cocaine ratio) has sent disproportionately large amounts of blacks to jail, for longer sentences, for having less of the drug crack cocaine (chemically the same as powder, just in rock form and cheaper so that inner city poor can afford it). This alone is a huge reason more black people are in the prison system. Although a little progress has been made lowering the ratio, it is still grossly unjust and unfair.

The government will ignore good scientific evidence and research as long as their rules go along with political agendas. Private prisons are big business and these owners can and do lobby congress. Keeping prisons full keeps prison owners' wallets nice and fat instead of doing good for society. Keep in mind that this huge increase in the prison population, especially for non-violent drug offenses, has done nothing to lower the drug use trends in the United States. It only gives people more reason to resort to illegitimate activities once they get out because they have no other good resources or knowledge of how to better themselves.

We do need to take care of our youth and be careful not to label them criminals for non-violent offenses when many of their bad choices could have been prevented if they had better education, more access to legitimate programs and activities, and better role models in which to drive them away from crime. Sending kids to jail for literally not knowing any better or having really any better choice is detrimental to society.

Although we would like to think that society has changed, it truly hasn't changed much. In the 60's during the height of the Civil Rights Movement the ultimate desire was for everyone to be treated as equals. Eventually it was said that African Americans, Hispanics and other minorities were equal but in this particular instance we can see that equality is far removed from the prison system. This article brings up a very good point according to the Justice Policy Institute,"Approximately 93,000 young people are held in juvenile justice facilities across the United States. Seventy percent of these youth are held in state funded, postadjudication,residential facilities, at an average cost of $240.99 per day per youth." Taking this into account if you attend college 10 months a year @ $240.99 per day this would equal $72,297 for the 10 months. This would more than enough to cover a 4 year college degree for a juvenile instead of incarceration. This would also teach them appropriate social skills and problem solving in a encouraging, supportive environment. The prison system has always been disproportionate in regards to African Americans vs. whites and Hispanics. This sends the message to these children that because of their race they will be treated differently, they will be singled out and the law will be applied to them differently. I wonder what would happen if the juveniles that are incarcerated for marijuana related crimes and other non-violent crimes if they were given the opportunity instead of jail to go to college. This may seem as rewarding bad behavior but if they were given the opportunity to educate themselves I feel a great majority of them would transition on to law abiding, productive citizens.

Obviously black prisoners are a very high ratio for the overall population in the U.S. There might be several reasons that explain this statistical phenomenon, and two main things popped up in my head. First, the high incarceration rate for black people shows how stereotypes affect black people. In fact, there are more white cops than other races in the U.S. For white cops, black people might be a red signal for any sort of violent conditions. Therefore, black people get more doubted, reached, and arrested than white people. Just walking on the street, driving a car, attending some activities are already unfair for black people because they are more likely to be suspected. Second, the high incarceration rate for black people is due to educational racism and further institutional racism. The incarceration rate for African-Americans is six times as high as the national average, and most of the African-Americans do not have a high school diploma. Of course there are many variables that the African-Americans did not finish their schooling, but one of the main reasons is that they still have educational discrimination. As the suggestion in this article, having more black teachers might change this problem. The educational racism leads black people to the institutional racism. Since they are not educated, it is harder for them to get a job. A situation like being unable to help out with the accumulating bills along with supporting family possibly prompts black people to break roles and to become criminal. Moreover, situations like this affect children growing up without parents and bring them in a vicious circle of poverty, low levels of education, and a life of crime.

This article has many great point in which the justice (especially juvenile) system is in dire need of reform. Eviednce has shown that incarceration increases the rates of recidivism. It could appear that with 60% of incarceraations being due to non-violent drug related crimes, there is a greatly increased likelihood of this 60% interacting with the other 40% and ultimately moving further into the world of crime.
Predominantly minority inhabited neighborhoods are considered to be correlated to increase crime rates, leading to increased observation by the police, which ultimately increases the statistics of these crime rate. This cycle, simply makes it appear that there is more crime in these neighborhoods, simply because people in predominantly white neighborhoods aren't being watched.
In addition, with so many crimes being related to non-violent use of drugs would appear to be clearly related to this increased observation over minorities. If more police focus their attentions on predominantly white neighborhoods, it is highly likely that they will encounter an equal proportion of white youths partaking in similar activities. While people should have some means of punishment for committing crimes, the unequal distribution of who is being punished for crimes is not due to unequal distribution of crime itself, and if we are to punish people for committing a crime we should ensure that the courts are also ensuring equal punishments for all who commit equal crime not just the unfortunate minorities that are targeted by the whole judicial system.

While I don't believe anyone has suggested it here, I believe that some individuals would begin by blaming the guardians of the individuals incarcerated. Arguments would consists of "it's a vicious cycle","the parents are to blame","segregation in schools lead to lower retention rates of minorities which lead to thievery (and what not)". I only include these because I've seen these arguments used, and at one point in my life I thought they all seemed valid. This was before I gained any insight into diversity issues or my own privileges as an educated white male.
I think I misunderstood the section regarding authority. How does having teaching children to respect members of their own racial background improve the lowering of retention rates? What if the authority figures are of a different racial identity? I hope I'm not confused due to my privilege, but if I am then hopefully someone can help me to further transform my understanding of diversity.

I'm not really sure on the reason why that Africa American criminals must carry out longer sentences than white people. Many white kids do just as harmful or terrible acts as anyone, but the black kids more punishment? Why? Why is it these kids are getting in trouble at such a young age? I believe that the only way to 'confine' this issue of increased incarceration rates amongst young men and women of any race is to educate them early on in their childhood. Awareness=good.