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"Racial Disproportionality in the American Prison Population"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the start of the title of this article from the Fall 2008 issue of the Justice Policy Journal.  Especially after a week in which many are eager to assert we have entered a new era when it comes to racial issues and justice issues, the article provide an important reminder of some critical criminal justice reality. As I have mentioned throughout the week, President Obama's Inaugural Address was inspirational when discussing "that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."  But, as the JPJ article highlights, the US now denies freedom through incarceration quite unequally.  Here is the start of the article's abstract: Statistics indicate that racial/ethnic minorities, particularly black and Hispanic males, face a disproportionately high risk of incarceration in the United States...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on January 25, 2009 (boomark / email).