RUNNING HEAD ROUGH DRAFT .docx

RUNNING HEAD: ROUGH DRAFT
19
Rough Draft
Comment by Nygel: Please remember to complete the title,
date and running head throughout the paper.
Lidia Williams
American Military University
Date:
Abstract
Analysis of research regarding the criminal justice and racial
profiling reveals that the system basically targets the African
males. Recent research conducted by the African Civil
Liberation Union (ACLU) and Mary Whinser from the School of
Law in the University of Washington clearly reveal that the
Criminal Justice System targets the African males when profiled
through the race. The two researchers reveal that there although
it is argued that racism has greatly decreased in the United
States there still exist some racial disparities in various stages
of the criminal justice system. The results of the researchers
show that there is a need for reviewing the current criminal
justice system in order to minimize racism that exists in the
system. The current policies that exist in the criminal justice
system need to be changed in order to change the face of the
system that is seen to target the African males. Comment by
Nygel: This is a good, strong abstract.

Keyword: racism, racial disparity, African Americans, statistics
The United States is the world’s leader in mass incarceration.
Approximately 700 out of Comment by Nygel: Please begin
each paragraph with an indent about 1/2 inch in from the left
margin. This is the typical/default Tab.
100,000 Americans are currently incarcerated serving sentences
in federal and state prisons
While mass Incarcerations rates in the United States are
alarming, the problem of racial
disproportion of African American males within the rates of
mass incarceration is equally if not
more problematic, as it sheds light on the unpleasant side of
American Justice System. African Comment by Nygel:
American justice system
Americans males are disproportionally incarcerated, making
them targets for systematic abuse in
the hands of the American Criminal Justice system by way of
the criminal justice process. The Comment by Nygel: This
does not need to be capitalized. Comment by Nygel: This is
a bold statement. I look forward to reading more.
criminal justice system is therefore racist in its practices and
processes; it is institutionally
designed to systematically abuse and oppress African
Americans males.
Comment by Nygel: There should not be an extra space
between paragraphs. This should only happen with headings or
subheadings to separate/divide paper into sections.
The criminal justice system is set in place to mitigate crime
in a manner accordance with Comment by Nygel: In

accordance… Remove manner
Constitutional rights of citizens. By design even criminals
regardless of race are to be protected Comment by Nygel:
By design, even criminals—regardless of race—are to be
protected against abuse…
against abuse of prosecution powers or investigatory powers
(Mann, 2011. The criminal justice
system is made up of three main parts: Courts that include
judges and attorneys, law enforcement Comment by Nygel: ;
that includes FBI, police offices and Homeland Security
department. Corrections including Comment by Nygel: ; and
corrections, including…
probation, prisons, jails and parole (Petersilia, 2013). The three
distinct agencies in the criminal
justice system operate under the rule of law in the society.
However trough statistics and
quantitative data there are racial disparities that exist within the
criminal justice system.
The legacies of segregation and slavery never ended with
the Civil Rights Movement but
they have continuously affected the African male mostly
through racial profiling on all levels in
the American society. African males are disproportionally
denied access to educational and
economic benefits. They are robbed of their human dignity and
civil rights and imprisoned by
the drug laws that are racist. Laws that are all to present within
racially disproportionate Comment by Nygel: These laws are
all-too-present within the racially disproportionate incarceration
rates.
incarceration rates Comment by Nygel: Please add a citation
or citations.
Mass incarceration rates peaked in the late 1970s to an all-
time high. Soon after incarceration Comment by Nygel: Is the

rate higher right now?
Trends began painting a very clear picture that while mass
incarceration was the culprit it fell on
the backs of African Americans males. During this time race
became a prominent part of the
conversation and the consensus was that in fact there was a
problem; the issue race fit
more broadly into the general pattern, particularly when we
quantify the disproportion. African Comment by Nygel:
particularly when the disproportionality was quantified. Keep
the past tense and also eliminate words like “we”.
Americans make up 12 percent of the American population.
African American males however
make up 6 percent of the population yet account for 37 percent
of all incarcerations in the United
States. Studies show that one in four African American males
before the age of 25 can expect to
be involved to be in the criminal justice system to some cacity.
Whether its prison, parole or
some type of supervision program. Notably statistics show that
incarcerated males do not
account for the majority of violent crimes. 67 % of all
incarcerated African American males are Comment by
Nygel: You need citations to support this paragraph.
Comment by Nygel: Yet, 67%... Do not begin a sentence
with a numeral. Comment by Nygel: African-American
males
in prison for drug related charges.
The War on drugs has been a driving force in the rising rates
of minority incarcerations since
the 1970s.During the tenure of Presidents Nixon’s presidency,
the war on drugs was declared, his
intent to punish anyone involved with drugs was very clear. He
pushed to dramatically and
forcefully increase the presence of federal drug agencies in an

effort to deter Americans from
drug use or distribution. His initiatives were met with the use of
media outlets as well as heavy
police enforcement throughout The United States. However, the
presences of federal agencies
had more prevalent presence in inner cities and poorer
communities housing African Americans
in comparison to any other demographics.
Moreover, during the height of racial tensions in the United
Sates a very strong argument was
raised by critics of the Judicial system that stated that judges
were given too much
discretion when sentencing; sentences were either too harsh or
too lenient for certain crimes
As a solution the government imposed what is known as
minimum sentencing guidelines. These
guidelines were set to withstand prejudiced ruling based on
color or race and serve as protective
measure from public perceptions. However, over time proved to
be ineffective as they created an
increased disproportion; the guidelines were not used
effectively and fairly and in accordance
with public interest. They were abused creating longer
sentences for minorities in an array of
nonviolent crimes although these guidelines were originally
created to remedy and mitigate
claims that the justice system was being disproportion and
heavy handed in its sentencing of act
as a buffer against discretionary concerns.
Mandatory minimums however, have had a human cost and
proven to not only be ineffective
in deterring crime but also creating racial disproportions in
incarceration rates of minorities
particularly African American males and Hispanic males.

United States sentencing commission
empirical analysis showed that crimes have had a particularly
stronger impact on minorities in
2010 74.4% of federal drug offenders sentenced under minimum
mandatory sentences were
black or Hispanic (Ghary, 2013). However, at the federal level
there has been improvements at Comment by Nygel: Have
the federal level there has been a reduction of mandatory
minimums as well as safety valve
provisions to give judges discretion in certain cases. On the
local level at least 29 states have
rolled back mandatory sentences since 2000 (Subramanian,
2014). Though, none of these
provisions act retroactively to provide relief to the thousands of
black men currently serving
disproportionally long sentences for minor drug offences.
There are many causes of racial disparity in the criminal
justice system, they are myriad and
complex. While there is disproportionate offending for certain
types of crimes there is also a lot
of discretionary decision making by actors, criminal justice
officials in the system from arrest all Comment by Nygel:
Please make sure to proofread for grammatical errors.
the way until sentencing such as police officer’s prosecutors.
Judges that make discretionary
decision which produce racial result from racial profiling on the
part of the police to charging
and plea-bargaining decision by prosecutors and sentencing
decision by judges. While some
decisions may not be based on intentional discrimination they
are based on unconscious bias and
these biased can lead to devastating results and creating and
fortifying the racial disparity within
the justice system that supports a systematic abuse of African
American.

Aside from minimum sentencing provisions, racial
disproportionality is a direct contribution
of key players within the criminal justice system; judges, law
enforcements personnel, district
attorney as well as arresting officers subsequently keep the
disparity alive and well into the 21st
century though abuse of discretion. For example, according to
studies African American males
do not account for the majority of violent crimes: they do not
even come close (Campbell 2015).
Most sentences that’s are handed to African American males are
incumbent on discretionary
decision of the key players in the criminal justice system.
The use of discretion has always been a topic of
conversation in the context of racial
inequality and disparity in the criminal justice system. The
amount of discretion given to key
players within the criminal justice system such as law
enforcement, arresting officers, district
attorneys. Evidence of direct racial discrimination is evident in
sentencing outcomes. African
are more likely to be disadvantaged in terms of sentences
lengths than any other group. They are
also disadvantaged in the initial decision to incarcerate or not.
Judges are more likely to rule less
favorably for African American males than they are for any
other demographic within the united
states of America. As compared to 1 in 17 white males
(Adelman, 2017). The statistics are stark.
The United States sentencing commission published a study
stating that African American
men are receiving prison sentences that are 19 % longer than
white males. Racial disparities

between whites and blacks have steadily increased through the
year. For instance, in the year
1998 -2003 the percentage was 11%, between 2003 and -2004
the percentage dropped to 5%
however in 2005 it skyrocketed to 15% . The commission states
that the spike in sentences was
caused by the Supreme court’s decision in United States vs
Booker (Federal Sentencing
Commission 2008). The results of this case gave federal judges
more discretion on sentencing
ultimately leaving it in to impose harsher or more lenient
sentences. Before this decision federal
judges were required to abide by the Commissions sentencing
guidelines. The commission also
cites this as one of the reasons why African Americans males
harsher longer sentences in
comparison to whites. However, the sentencing decision by
judges is usually at the tail end of the
criminal
justice process. Before sentencing occurs in the hands of a
judge, there evidence of an even
more alarming racial trend perpetuated by prosecutors.
Prosecutors are said to have more power than a judge in the
criminal justice system; their
charging decisions are key. Prosecutors are given ample amount
of discretion in deciding who to
charge, what to charge them, and creating plea bargain options
for defendants. Prosecutors are
uniquely situated to fix this problem. Prosecutors are the most
powerful officials in the criminal
justice system. They make charging decision as well as plea
bargaining decisions and those
decisions are the decision that really drive the criminal justice
system. Prosecutors should
develop ways to doubt their won objectivity as well as and

refrain from operation and basing
sentencing decision on implicit biases against African American
males that are perpetuated by
society or experiences (Free, 20050. Prosecutors should be
cognizant of their impact on the lives
of others and retain a count and trends of their sentencing trends
within their organizations.
Scholar Sonja Starr conducted a study in which she followed
cases of both African American
males as well as Hispanic and Caucasian throughout the entire
criminal process using multi
organizational data in each case. She assured that all cases had
the same mitigating factors such
as past criminal history to assure that perhaps while cases may
look the same once they are at
the tail end of the criminal process to make a fair comparison of
sentencing outcomes. She
subsequently discovered that although African American males
and their white counterparts may
commit the same crime and have the same criminal history;
their crimes were being placed
differently within sentencing guidelines. Regardless of controls
placed in the study African
American males were 10% more likely to be given a harsher
sentence (Rehavi, 2014).
Another important contribution driving racial disparities in
the criminal justice system that
work to target African American males are systems such as plea
bargaining in the hands of
prosecutors Please bargaining is method used by prosecutors to
maintain leverage in the criminal
justice process. African American males are often coerced into
accepting plea deals and agreeing
to shorter sentences in the hopes of avoiding longer ones as well

as avoiding trial. The vast
majority of people in the justice system are poor and are not
able to afford trials. Makin plea
bargains a way of life in the African American community and
further driving racial outcomes
by way of socially unjust practices that target the poor. A study
shows that 95% of disposition in
cases involving the incarceration o African American males if a
result of a plea bargain
regardless of innocence or guilt. ( Savitsky, 2012).
Racial profiling of African American men is deeply rooted
in the criminal justice system. It is
a practice that disproportionate targets a group based on race
and pre-conceived notions of guilt
without actual evidence in the hands of police officers. Police
officers are also given vast
amounts of discretion. Officers decide where to patrol and who
to arrest. police officers are
oftentimes the face of the criminal justice system. However
African American males are more
more likely to be stopped and frisked, searched or questioned or
met with unwarranted
physical violence or killed that any other group in The United
States.
Racial profiling of the African males is seen to occur in the
following incidents: It has been
found out that at police stops whether on foot or in cars,
African American males’ investigatory
stops to whites, are twice the rate. It has been proved that racial
disparities are more rampant
during daytime in the traffic police check since the race can be
viewed unlike at night
(Weitzer, 2010). Police searches are another place where racial
profiling is persistent. African

males are given tickets at a higher rate compared to the whites.
Searches at the police traffic
stops are three times more than those of the whites as well.
Police using force during arrest is
another incident where African males are treated brutally on a
racism profile than the whites.
Police use force on them such as dogs, pepper spray, Tasers and
physical force. Juvenile arrests
among African male children and youth who are under the age
of 18 years is twice higher than
that of American children for committing crimes in school.
They are held in detention for a
longer period of time than the white kids in accordance with the
sentencing project of juvenile.
As was in the cases of In the case of Amadou Diallo (1999),
Patrick Dosrismond, Ouzmane
Zongo, Sean bell, Oscar grant Freddie gray, were all racially
profiled and killed. While these
examples are not the norm, they are a very stark reality for
African Americans males in their
daily interactions with law enforcement officers. Personal and a
perpetuated culture of “Us. Vs
them” in a racial context has driven policing through America
especially in African American
communities where biases often drive behaviors of police
creating social tension and mistrust.
Communities are often not well represented in their
perspective police departments further
creating divide between law enforcement and communities
Systems of power in the united states
that lack accountability. Police officers acting badly is a
symptom of the fact that there is no
accountability. The lack of accountability in the criminal justice
system is fueled by a larger
culture in society which consistently validates it by constantly

accepting poor behavior on behalf
of police as part of their job; creating mistrust between
communities and the system.
The research by the American Civil Liberties Union
collected case studies on life-without-
parole sentencing for nonviolent offenses and death penalty
cases in order to prove that racial
bias and disparate still exists in the criminal justice system. The
case studies were retrieved from
genuine sources such as the prison policy organization and
sentencing project organization
among much more in order to prove that the criminal justice
system mostly targets the African
males. Reports from the human rights and Legal Defense and
Educational Fund Inc were also
used as sources to reveal the estimate of the ratio of the
population of the Whites and Africans
present in jail.The results of the study showed that there are
significant racial disparities that
exist in the sentencing decisions in the U.S.A. It was revealed
that the disparities in the criminal
justice system increased with the severity of the imposed
sentence. The major causes of racial
disparities revealed from the study are as a result of the
disparate treatments of the Black males
at the criminal justice system, which includes the stops and
searches, arrests, trials, and
sentencing. The research argued that race in the criminal justice
system matters a lot and
influences the decision imposed on the offender. The research
revealed that an African male
offender is at a disadvantage when finding on the wrong side of
the criminal justice system
(American Civil Liberties Union, 2014).

Whisner conducted a study to reveal that race still exists in
the criminal justice system. She Comment by Nygel: (Year)
argued that people of color are overrepresented and treated
differently in Washington State
prisons and jails. The study argued that both disproportionality
and disparity exist in the criminal
justice system of Washington State. The study provides
evidence that shows patterns of racial
profiling in Washington State, which gives substantial reasons
that the African males are at a
disadvantage in the criminal justice system. Analysis of the
drug enforcement patterns and police
stops in the state revealed that criminal justice system targets
the male colored people especially
the Africans. The study further argued that police
investigations, traffic offenses, and drug
possession and distribution are largely associated with race and
ethnicity.
Various judges and lawyers were interviewed to reveal how
the male minority offenders in
Washington State are perceived by the criminal justice system
in the state. A group of twenty
male African citizens was also interviewed to give their opinion
and perception of the criminal
justice system in Washington. Surveys were also conducted on
various prisons and jails in the
state to give an estimate of the ratio of the African and White
inmates present in these
institutions. Law casebooks and publications from federal state
institutions were used to give an
estimate of the current state of racism that exists in the criminal
justice system.
The study revealed that many male Africans believe that

bias pervades the entire legal system
in Washington State. The group in return does not trust the
court system when it comes to
resolving their disputes and administer justice. Analysis from
the study further showed that the
African males receive disparate treatment and harsher sentences
compared to the white male
offenders who have committed the same crime. The minority
groups in Washington are treated
with disrespect and the police force engages this group with
offensive behaviors. The male
Africans who rely on the public defenders argued that they are
at a disadvantage since the
agencies
While statistics are stacked high to support the idea that the
criminal justice system works to
victimize African American males perhaps the most critical in
which these statistics affect this
particular demographic can be seen in their absence within the
nuclear family. African
American males are more likely to be incarcerated than they are
to be able to raise their children
creating a perpetual generational cycle of incarceration. Often
times when African American
males are incarcerated their children are left fatherless.
Fatherless homes is the greatest threat to
the African community. Children who grow up without a father
are five times more likely to live
in poverty and commit crimes 9x ore likely to drop out of
school and 20 times more likely to end up in prison (Defina,
2009).
In conclusion there is enough conclusive evidence by way of
statistics that support that black
men in America are targeted by the criminal justice system by

way of the criminal process
system. Judges prosecutors, police officers base their sentencing
decision on racial biases that
often have racial outcomes. While many of these biases may not
be intentional the outcomes are
devastating to the African American Community . (Work in
progress)
References
Adelman, L., & Deitrich, J. (2017). Booker, judges, and mass
incarceration. Federal Sentencing Reporter, 29(4), 224.
Comment by Nygel: Your hanging indents should only be
1/2 inch from the left margin, line above it.
Cadore, Z. (2015). Accepting the unacceptable: Judicial backing
of racial profiling in america. Harvard Journal of African
American Public Policy, , 28-31. Retrieved from https://search-
proquest-
com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/docview/1691261439?accountid=8289
Comment by Nygel: America can be capitalized
Comment by Nygel: italics. Please also provide the
volume number, like the reference above. The DOI should be
on the first page of the PDF.
DeFina, R., & Hannon, L. (2013;2009;). The impact of mass
incarceration on poverty. Crime & Delinquency, 59(4), 562-586.
doi:10.1177/0011128708328864 Comment by Nygel: This is
very good, but you need to put the Journal and volume number
in italics.
Geller, A., Cooper, C. E., Garfinkel, I., Schwartz-Soicher, O., &
Mincy, R. B. (2012;2011;). Beyond absenteeism: Father
incarceration and child development. Demography, 49(1), 49-
76. doi:10.1007/s13524-011-0081-9
Ghaly, M. (2013). The fair sentencing act of 2010 and federal
cocaine sentencing policy - how congress continues to allow
implicit racial animus towards african americans to permeate
federal cocaine sentencing. Rutgers Race and the Law Review,
14, 135-153

Free, J., Marvin D. (2005). Prosecutorial decision making and
minority group-threat theory. Criminal Justice Studies, 18(1), 7-
28. doi:10.1080/14786010500071071
Savitsky, D. (2012). Is plea bargaining a rational choice? plea
bargaining as an engine of racial stratification and
overcrowding in the united states prison system. Rationality and
Society, 24(2), 131-167. doi:10.1177/1043463112441351
Sklansky, D. A. (2016). The nature and function of
prosecutorial power. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology,
106(3), 473. Comment by Nygel: Is this a one-page article?
This paper makes some really good points. You need some
work. I am very confident that you will get there. Please
review the entire paper for grammatical errors. Please be sure
that every paragraph, unless it is your introduction, which may
not need a citation in each paragraph, or your
discussion/conclusion, includes citations. You only have eight
references. I hope that you can add some and also work on
putting them in APA format. They are close. I noticed that you
changed the alignment to justify in your references section. Do
not do that. I made some corrections regarding grammar but
certainly not all. I also noticed that you began changing
African Americans to simply Africans. That is not accurate,
unless you are specifically referring to someone from Africa. It
is okay to interchange African Americans or black males, and
the same goes for Caucasians or whites, etc. You have a lot of
good content with which to work. Please be sure to add and
headings and subheadings. Please also add a running header. I
hope that you can make improvements and possibly get someone
else to proofread your paper. I certainly like the direction.
Criminal Justice Formal Written Paper Rubric 100 points total
Content (Possible 50 Points): 42
Use of Sources (Possible 20 Points): 11

Grammar (Possible 20 Points): 13
Structure of the Paper (Possible 10 points): 8
Total Points Earned: 74
RUNNING HEAD: ROUGH DRAFT
19
Rough Draft
Comment by Nygel: Please remember to complete the title,
date and running head throughout the paper.
Lidia Williams
American Military University
Date:
Abstract
Analysis of research regarding the criminal justice and racial
profiling reveals that the system basically targets the African
males. Recent research conducted by the African Civil
Liberation Union (ACLU) and Mary Whinser from the School of
Law in the University of Washington clearly reveal that the
Criminal Justice System targets the African males when profiled
through the race. The two researchers reveal that there although
it is argued that racism has greatly decreased in the United
States there still exist some racial disparities in various stages
of the criminal justice system. The results of the researchers
show that there is a need for reviewing the current criminal
justice system in order to minimize racism that exists in the
system. The current policies that exist in the criminal justice
system need to be changed in order to change the face of the

system that is seen to target the African males. Comment by
Nygel: This is a good, strong abstract.
Keyword: racism, racial disparity, African Americans, statistics
The United States is the world’s leader in mass incarceration.
Approximately 700 out of Comment by Nygel: Please begin
each paragraph with an indent about 1/2 inch in from the left
margin. This is the typical/default Tab.
100,000 Americans are currently incarcerated serving sentences
in federal and state prisons
While mass Incarcerations rates in the United States are
alarming, the problem of racial
disproportion of African American males within the rates of
mass incarceration is equally if not
more problematic, as it sheds light on the unpleasant side of
American Justice System. African Comment by Nygel:
American justice system
Americans males are disproportionally incarcerated, making
them targets for systematic abuse in
the hands of the American Criminal Justice system by way of
the criminal justice process. The Comment by Nygel: This
does not need to be capitalized. Comment by Nygel: This is
a bold statement. I look forward to reading more.
criminal justice system is therefore racist in its practices and
processes; it is institutionally
designed to systematically abuse and oppress African
Americans males.
Comment by Nygel: There should not be an extra space
between paragraphs. This should only happen with headings or
subheadings to separate/divide paper into sections.

The criminal justice system is set in place to mitigate crime
in a manner accordance with Comment by Nygel: In
accordance… Remove manner
Constitutional rights of citizens. By design even criminals
regardless of race are to be protected Comment by Nygel:
By design, even criminals—regardless of race—are to be
protected against abuse…
against abuse of prosecution powers or investigatory powers
(Mann, 2011. The criminal justice
system is made up of three main parts: Courts that include
judges and attorneys, law enforcement Comment by Nygel: ;
that includes FBI, police offices and Homeland Security
department. Corrections including Comment by Nygel: ; and
corrections, including…
probation, prisons, jails and parole (Petersilia, 2013). The three
distinct agencies in the criminal
justice system operate under the rule of law in the society.
However trough statistics and
quantitative data there are racial disparities that exist within the
criminal justice system.
The legacies of segregation and slavery never ended with
the Civil Rights Movement but
they have continuously affected the African male mostly
through racial profiling on all levels in
the American society. African males are disproportionally
denied access to educational and
economic benefits. They are robbed of their human dignity and
civil rights and imprisoned by
the drug laws that are racist. Laws that are all to present within
racially disproportionate Comment by Nygel: These laws are
all-too-present within the racially disproportionate incarceration
rates.
incarceration rates Comment by Nygel: Please add a citation
or citations.

Mass incarceration rates peaked in the late 1970s to an all-
time high. Soon after incarceration Comment by Nygel: Is the
rate higher right now?
Trends began painting a very clear picture that while mass
incarceration was the culprit it fell on
the backs of African Americans males. During this time race
became a prominent part of the
conversation and the consensus was that in fact there was a
problem; the issue race fit
more broadly into the general pattern, particularly when we
quantify the disproportion. African Comment by Nygel:
particularly when the disproportionality was quantified. Keep
the past tense and also eliminate words like “we”.
Americans make up 12 percent of the American population.
African American males however
make up 6 percent of the population yet account for 37 percent
of all incarcerations in the United
States. Studies show that one in four African American males
before the age of 25 can expect to
be involved to be in the criminal justice system to some cacity.
Whether its prison, parole or
some type of supervision program. Notably statistics show that
incarcerated males do not
account for the majority of violent crimes. 67 % of all
incarcerated African American males are Comment by
Nygel: You need citations to support this paragraph.
Comment by Nygel: Yet, 67%... Do not begin a sentence
with a numeral. Comment by Nygel: African-American
males
in prison for drug related charges.
The War on drugs has been a driving force in the rising rates
of minority incarcerations since
the 1970s.During the tenure of Presidents Nixon’s presidency,
the war on drugs was declared, his
intent to punish anyone involved with drugs was very clear. He

pushed to dramatically and
forcefully increase the presence of federal drug agencies in an
effort to deter Americans from
drug use or distribution. His initiatives were met with the use of
media outlets as well as heavy
police enforcement throughout The United States. However, the
presences of federal agencies
had more prevalent presence in inner cities and poorer
communities housing African Americans
in comparison to any other demographics.
Moreover, during the height of racial tensions in the United
Sates a very strong argument was
raised by critics of the Judicial system that stated that judges
were given too much
discretion when sentencing; sentences were either too harsh or
too lenient for certain crimes
As a solution the government imposed what is known as
minimum sentencing guidelines. These
guidelines were set to withstand prejudiced ruling based on
color or race and serve as protective
measure from public perceptions. However, over time proved to
be ineffective as they created an
increased disproportion; the guidelines were not used
effectively and fairly and in accordance
with public interest. They were abused creating longer
sentences for minorities in an array of
nonviolent crimes although these guidelines were originally
created to remedy and mitigate
claims that the justice system was being disproportion and
heavy handed in its sentencing of act
as a buffer against discretionary concerns.
Mandatory minimums however, have had a human cost and
proven to not only be ineffective
in deterring crime but also creating racial disproportions in

incarceration rates of minorities
particularly African American males and Hispanic males.
United States sentencing commission
empirical analysis showed that crimes have had a particularly
stronger impact on minorities in
2010 74.4% of federal drug offenders sentenced under minimum
mandatory sentences were
black or Hispanic (Ghary, 2013). However, at the federal level
there has been improvements at Comment by Nygel: Have
the federal level there has been a reduction of mandatory
minimums as well as safety valve
provisions to give judges discretion in certain cases. On the
local level at least 29 states have
rolled back mandatory sentences since 2000 (Subramanian,
2014). Though, none of these
provisions act retroactively to provide relief to the thousands of
black men currently serving
disproportionally long sentences for minor drug offences.
There are many causes of racial disparity in the criminal
justice system, they are myriad and
complex. While there is disproportionate offending for certain
types of crimes there is also a lot
of discretionary decision making by actors, criminal justice
officials in the system from arrest all Comment by Nygel:
Please make sure to proofread for grammatical errors.
the way until sentencing such as police officer’s prosecutors.
Judges that make discretionary
decision which produce racial result from racial profiling on the
part of the police to charging
and plea-bargaining decision by prosecutors and sentencing
decision by judges. While some
decisions may not be based on intentional discrimination they
are based on unconscious bias and
these biased can lead to devastating results and creating and
fortifying the racial disparity within

the justice system that supports a systematic abuse of African
American.
Aside from minimum sentencing provisions, racial
disproportionality is a direct contribution
of key players within the criminal justice system; judges, law
enforcements personnel, district
attorney as well as arresting officers subsequently keep the
disparity alive and well into the 21st
century though abuse of discretion. For example, according to
studies African American males
do not account for the majority of violent crimes: they do not
even come close (Campbell 2015).
Most sentences that’s are handed to African American males are
incumbent on discretionary
decision of the key players in the criminal justice system.
The use of discretion has always been a topic of
conversation in the context of racial
inequality and disparity in the criminal justice system. The
amount of discretion given to key
players within the criminal justice system such as law
enforcement, arresting officers, district
attorneys. Evidence of direct racial discrimination is evident in
sentencing outcomes. African
are more likely to be disadvantaged in terms of sentences
lengths than any other group. They are
also disadvantaged in the initial decision to incarcerate or not.
Judges are more likely to rule less
favorably for African American males than they are for any
other demographic within the united
states of America. As compared to 1 in 17 white males
(Adelman, 2017). The statistics are stark.
The United States sentencing commission published a study
stating that African American

men are receiving prison sentences that are 19 % longer than
white males. Racial disparities
between whites and blacks have steadily increased through the
year. For instance, in the year
1998 -2003 the percentage was 11%, between 2003 and -2004
the percentage dropped to 5%
however in 2005 it skyrocketed to 15% . The commission states
that the spike in sentences was
caused by the Supreme court’s decision in United States vs
Booker (Federal Sentencing
Commission 2008). The results of this case gave federal judges
more discretion on sentencing
ultimately leaving it in to impose harsher or more lenient
sentences. Before this decision federal
judges were required to abide by the Commissions sentencing
guidelines. The commission also
cites this as one of the reasons why African Americans males
harsher longer sentences in
comparison to whites. However, the sentencing decision by
judges is usually at the tail end of the
criminal
justice process. Before sentencing occurs in the hands of a
judge, there evidence of an even
more alarming racial trend perpetuated by prosecutors.
Prosecutors are said to have more power than a judge in the
criminal justice system; their
charging decisions are key. Prosecutors are given ample amount
of discretion in deciding who to
charge, what to charge them, and creating plea bargain options
for defendants. Prosecutors are
uniquely situated to fix this problem. Prosecutors are the most
powerful officials in the criminal
justice system. They make charging decision as well as plea
bargaining decisions and those
decisions are the decision that really drive the criminal justice

system. Prosecutors should
develop ways to doubt their won objectivity as well as and
refrain from operation and basing
sentencing decision on implicit biases against African American
males that are perpetuated by
society or experiences (Free, 20050. Prosecutors should be
cognizant of their impact on the lives
of others and retain a count and trends of their sentencing trends
within their organizations.
Scholar Sonja Starr conducted a study in which she followed
cases of both African American
males as well as Hispanic and Caucasian throughout the entire
criminal process using multi
organizational data in each case. She assured that all cases had
the same mitigating factors such
as past criminal history to assure that perhaps while cases may
look the same once they are at
the tail end of the criminal process to make a fair comparison of
sentencing outcomes. She
subsequently discovered that although African American males
and their white counterparts may
commit the same crime and have the same criminal history;
their crimes were being placed
differently within sentencing guidelines. Regardless of controls
placed in the study African
American males were 10% more likely to be given a harsher
sentence (Rehavi, 2014).
Another important contribution driving racial disparities in
the criminal justice system that
work to target African American males are systems such as plea
bargaining in the hands of
prosecutors Please bargaining is method used by prosecutors to
maintain leverage in the criminal
justice process. African American males are often coerced into

accepting plea deals and agreeing
to shorter sentences in the hopes of avoiding longer ones as well
as avoiding trial. The vast
majority of people in the justice system are poor and are not
able to afford trials. Makin plea
bargains a way of life in the African American community and
further driving racial outcomes
by way of socially unjust practices that target the poor. A study
shows that 95% of disposition in
cases involving the incarceration o African American males if a
result of a plea bargain
regardless of innocence or guilt. ( Savitsky, 2012).
Racial profiling of African American men is deeply rooted
in the criminal justice system. It is
a practice that disproportionate targets a group based on race
and pre-conceived notions of guilt
without actual evidence in the hands of police officers. Police
officers are also given vast
amounts of discretion. Officers decide where to patrol and who
to arrest. police officers are
oftentimes the face of the criminal justice system. However
African American males are more
more likely to be stopped and frisked, searched or questioned or
met with unwarranted
physical violence or killed that any other group in The United
States.
Racial profiling of the African males is seen to occur in the
following incidents: It has been
found out that at police stops whether on foot or in cars,
African American males’ investigatory
stops to whites, are twice the rate. It has been proved that racial
disparities are more rampant
during daytime in the traffic police check since the race can be
viewed unlike at night

(Weitzer, 2010). Police searches are another place where racial
profiling is persistent. African
males are given tickets at a higher rate compared to the whites.
Searches at the police traffic
stops are three times more than those of the whites as well.
Police using force during arrest is
another incident where African males are treated brutally on a
racism profile than the whites.
Police use force on them such as dogs, pepper spray, Tasers and
physical force. Juvenile arrests
among African male children and youth who are under the age
of 18 years is twice higher than
that of American children for committing crimes in school.
They are held in detention for a
longer period of time than the white kids in accordance with the
sentencing project of juvenile.
As was in the cases of In the case of Amadou Diallo (1999),
Patrick Dosrismond, Ouzmane
Zongo, Sean bell, Oscar grant Freddie gray, were all racially
profiled and killed. While these
examples are not the norm, they are a very stark reality for
African Americans males in their
daily interactions with law enforcement officers. Personal and a
perpetuated culture of “Us. Vs
them” in a racial context has driven policing through America
especially in African American
communities where biases often drive behaviors of police
creating social tension and mistrust.
Communities are often not well represented in their
perspective police departments further
creating divide between law enforcement and communities
Systems of power in the united states
that lack accountability. Police officers acting badly is a
symptom of the fact that there is no
accountability. The lack of accountability in the criminal justice

system is fueled by a larger
culture in society which consistently validates it by constantly
accepting poor behavior on behalf
of police as part of their job; creating mistrust between
communities and the system.
The research by the American Civil Liberties Union
collected case studies on life-without-
parole sentencing for nonviolent offenses and death penalty
cases in order to prove that racial
bias and disparate still exists in the criminal justice system. The
case studies were retrieved from
genuine sources such as the prison policy organization and
sentencing project organization
among much more in order to prove that the criminal justice
system mostly targets the African
males. Reports from the human rights and Legal Defense and
Educational Fund Inc were also
used as sources to reveal the estimate of the ratio of the
population of the Whites and Africans
present in jail.The results of the study showed that there are
significant racial disparities that
exist in the sentencing decisions in the U.S.A. It was revealed
that the disparities in the criminal
justice system increased with the severity of the imposed
sentence. The major causes of racial
disparities revealed from the study are as a result of the
disparate treatments of the Black males
at the criminal justice system, which includes the stops and
searches, arrests, trials, and
sentencing. The research argued that race in the criminal justice
system matters a lot and
influences the decision imposed on the offender. The research
revealed that an African male
offender is at a disadvantage when finding on the wrong side of
the criminal justice system

(American Civil Liberties Union, 2014).
Whisner conducted a study to reveal that race still exists in
the criminal justice system. She Comment by Nygel: (Year)
argued that people of color are overrepresented and treated
differently in Washington State
prisons and jails. The study argued that both disproportionality
and disparity exist in the criminal
justice system of Washington State. The study provides
evidence that shows patterns of racial
profiling in Washington State, which gives substantial reasons
that the African males are at a
disadvantage in the criminal justice system. Analysis of the
drug enforcement patterns and police
stops in the state revealed that criminal justice system targets
the male colored people especially
the Africans. The study further argued that police
investigations, traffic offenses, and drug
possession and distribution are largely associated with race and
ethnicity.
Various judges and lawyers were interviewed to reveal how
the male minority offenders in
Washington State are perceived by the criminal justice system
in the state. A group of twenty
male African citizens was also interviewed to give their opinion
and perception of the criminal
justice system in Washington. Surveys were also conducted on
various prisons and jails in the
state to give an estimate of the ratio of the African and White
inmates present in these
institutions. Law casebooks and publications from federal state
institutions were used to give an
estimate of the current state of racism that exists in the criminal
justice system.

The study revealed that many male Africans believe that
bias pervades the entire legal system
in Washington State. The group in return does not trust the
court system when it comes to
resolving their disputes and administer justice. Analysis from
the study further showed that the
African males receive disparate treatment and harsher sentences
compared to the white male
offenders who have committed the same crime. The minority
groups in Washington are treated
with disrespect and the police force engages this group with
offensive behaviors. The male
Africans who rely on the public defenders argued that they are
at a disadvantage since the
agencies
While statistics are stacked high to support the idea that the
criminal justice system works to
victimize African American males perhaps the most critical in
which these statistics affect this
particular demographic can be seen in their absence within the
nuclear family. African
American males are more likely to be incarcerated than they are
to be able to raise their children
creating a perpetual generational cycle of incarceration. Often
times when African American
males are incarcerated their children are left fatherless.
Fatherless homes is the greatest threat to
the African community. Children who grow up without a father
are five times more likely to live
in poverty and commit crimes 9x ore likely to drop out of
school and 20 times more likely to end up in prison (Defina,
2009).
In conclusion there is enough conclusive evidence by way of

statistics that support that black
men in America are targeted by the criminal justice system by
way of the criminal process
system. Judges prosecutors, police officers base their sentencing
decision on racial biases that
often have racial outcomes. While many of these biases may not
be intentional the outcomes are
devastating to the African American Community . (Work in
progress)
References
Adelman, L., & Deitrich, J. (2017). Booker, judges, and mass
incarceration. Federal Sentencing Reporter, 29(4), 224.
Comment by Nygel: Your hanging indents should only be
1/2 inch from the left margin, line above it.
Cadore, Z. (2015). Accepting the unacceptable: Judicial backing
of racial profiling in america. Harvard Journal of African
American Public Policy, , 28-31. Retrieved from https://search-
proquest-
com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/docview/1691261439?accountid=8289
Comment by Nygel: America can be capitalized
Comment by Nygel: italics. Please also provide the
volume number, like the reference above. The DOI should be
on the first page of the PDF.
DeFina, R., & Hannon, L. (2013;2009;). The impact of mass
incarceration on poverty. Crime & Delinquency, 59(4), 562-586.
doi:10.1177/0011128708328864 Comment by Nygel: This is
very good, but you need to put the Journal and volume number
in italics.
Geller, A., Cooper, C. E., Garfinkel, I., Schwartz-Soicher, O., &
Mincy, R. B. (2012;2011;). Beyond absenteeism: Father
incarceration and child development. Demography, 49(1), 49-
76. doi:10.1007/s13524-011-0081-9
Ghaly, M. (2013). The fair sentencing act of 2010 and federal
cocaine sentencing policy - how congress continues to allow
implicit racial animus towards african americans to permeate

federal cocaine sentencing. Rutgers Race and the Law Review,
14, 135-153
Free, J., Marvin D. (2005). Prosecutorial decision making and
minority group-threat theory. Criminal Justice Studies, 18(1), 7-
28. doi:10.1080/14786010500071071
Savitsky, D. (2012). Is plea bargaining a rational choice? plea
bargaining as an engine of racial stratification and
overcrowding in the united states prison system. Rationality and
Society, 24(2), 131-167. doi:10.1177/1043463112441351
Sklansky, D. A. (2016). The nature and function of
prosecutorial power. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology,
106(3), 473. Comment by Nygel: Is this a one-page article?
This paper makes some really good points. You need some
work. I am very confident that you will get there. Please
review the entire paper for grammatical errors. Please be sure
that every paragraph, unless it is your introduction, which may
not need a citation in each paragraph, or your
discussion/conclusion, includes citations. You only have eight
references. I hope that you can add some and also work on
putting them in APA format. They are close. I noticed that you
changed the alignment to justify in your references section. Do
not do that. I made some corrections regarding grammar but
certainly not all. I also noticed that you began changing
African Americans to simply Africans. That is not accurate,
unless you are specifically referring to someone from Africa. It
is okay to interchange African Americans or black males, and
the same goes for Caucasians or whites, etc. You have a lot of
good content with which to work. Please be sure to add and
headings and subheadings. Please also add a running header. I
hope that you can make improvements and possibly get someone
else to proofread your paper. I certainly like the direction.
Criminal Justice Formal Written Paper Rubric 100 points total

Content (Possible 50 Points): 42
Use of Sources (Possible 20 Points): 11
Grammar (Possible 20 Points): 13
Structure of the Paper (Possible 10 points): 8
Total Points Earned: 74

RUNNING HEAD ROUGH DRAFT .docx

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Similaire à RUNNING HEAD ROUGH DRAFT .docx

Similaire à RUNNING HEAD ROUGH DRAFT .docx (9)

Plus de toltonkendal

Plus de toltonkendal (20)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

RUNNING HEAD ROUGH DRAFT .docx