Inmates

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Inmates

US prison system is based on the old rules of Jim Crow era in which black were segregated in every aspects of life. The history of Africans in America depicts that they lacked equal justice that was apparent in the creation of different codes for blacks. The assessment of the prison systems in United States still reflects the prevalence of race and discrimination. The common factors that promote differential treatments towards black and Latino inmates include racist attitudes of prosecutors, racial profiling and discriminatory treatment of officers.

Interview with a black prison inmate depicts that he has been locked up for non-violent crimes. Interviewee is imprisoned for financial fraud for the period of 5-20 years. He is 62 years old and holds a degree in Economics and Masters in Science. When he was locked up in jail he was 25 years old. The man explained that he has 3 kids and was a financial broker before imprisonment. The views of the man reveals that he thinks he could have given a chance for living a life of good citizen. The analysis of case confirms that black people are more likely to be discriminated in the prisons. I have selected the topic because racism is part of prison system that needs to be addressed.

Inmates are treated differently in prison according to race because people of color are kept in solitary confinement compared to whites. On the basis of data revealed from 2015’s survey is depicted that in 31 of 43 confinements blacks were overrepresented. Latinos were overrepresented in 21 out of 44 confinements in general (Lantigua-Williams). While in California 86 percent population in solitary confinement is of Latinos. This confirms that the criminal justice system is racist. This indicates adoption of different treatments for blacks that are more brutal. Keeping them in solitary confinement have negative impacts on the black and Latino inmates that often leads to mental stress and destruction.

There is imbalance in prison because white and black inmates experience different treatments. The prison system of United States is racist because there is significant evidence that exhibit blacks and Latinos as victims of brutal treatments. Blacks experience brutal treatments from police officers during investigations. Racial profiling is a common practice used by white officers during search operations. They are more convinced to doubt black or Latin citizens than whites. Such attitudes have promoted negative feelings among minority population and also created fear among innocent CITATION Joh183 \l 1033 (Gramlich).

The differences in the rate of incarnation between white and black inmates confirm prevalence of race in the prison system. Data of 2017 depicts that incarnation rate of blacks is more than whites because 475,900 blacks were incarnated compared to 436,500 whites CITATION Joh183 \l 1033 (Gramlich). Although whites represent a larger US population but still their percentage in prisons is low compared to blacks. Comparing the statistics depicts an increase of 20% black incarnation from 2007 to 2017. A 13% decline is observed for the white inmates between 2007 to 2017. Blacks represent 12% of adult population but 33% of the prison population CITATION Joh183 \l 1033 (Gramlich). High percentage of blacks in jails reflects the strong role of racism. High incarnation of blacks and Latinos is also the result of racial attitudes of the officers.

The analysis of the prison system of America depicts that it is based on the idea of racism. The prison system has failed to offer equal justice to the people of minority populations. Blacks and Latinos are more likely to receive brutal treatments compared to whites. This depicts that the officers have still not managed to overcome their racist ideology that was part of the Jim Crow era.

Work Cited

Balko, Radley. There’s overwhelming evidence that the criminal-justice system is racist. Here’s the proof. 2018. 06 12 2019 <https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2018/09/18/theres-overwhelming-evidence-that-the-criminal-justice-system-is-racist-heres-the-proof/>.

Lantigua-Williams, Juleyka. The Link Between Race and Solitary Confinement . 2016. 06 12 2019 <https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/12/race-solitary-confinement/509456/>.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Gramlich, John. The gap between the number of blacks and whites in prison is shrinking . 2018. 06 12 2019 <https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/30/shrinking-gap-between-number-of-blacks-and-whites-in-prison/>.