Criminal Justice Inequality

Houston we have a problem. A mass Incarceration problem. One of the standout things that shows that we have NOT reach MLK's dream of equality is the fact African Americans and other minorities get arrested at 6 times the rate of Caucasians. Minorities also only make up 32% of the population of the U.S but make up 56% of the Prison Population. Since 1980 the amount of people in prison Quadrupled and minorities get hit with harder penalties for the same crime that Whites do. In fact we have more African-Americans in prison right now then we had in slavery in 1850. Sheesh.

If you think life gets any easier for minorities when (IF?) get out of prison then you couldn't be more wrong. A criminal record can reduce the likeliness of a callback or job offer by 50%, and that's if you're NOT a minority. The effects are twice as large for minorities. Let's not forget that we also spend triple the amount on our prison system than our K-12 education, it's not like we could use some of that money to help educate people so they can get a job and not resort to crime? Right?

Now that we've covered the reasons why MLk's dream is unrealized within Mass Incarceration and our prison systems lets take a look at the problems with the people that put people in the Incarceration Process. The Police, The PoPo, The Fuzz, Staties, the boys in blue. Unfortunately there is a problem with our public's defenders. Not every cop is bad but with events over recent years Minorities are feeling scared of the people that are supposed to make them feel safe. African Americans are twice more likely to be killed by the police unarmed during police encounters than whites. They are beaten unnecessarily and with excessive force. We've seen many protests of this brutality in places like Ferguson, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Baltimore, at the unneeded deaths of Michael Brown, Freddy Gray and Trayvon Martin, and where in many instances the Police officers are let off with little to no punishment. Racial Tensions are as high and maybe even higher than they were back during the civil rights movement, a step back from what MLK wanted.

In Conclusion, America in regards of Criminal Justice has a long way to go before reaching MLK's dream of equality and as of the state right now we have not achieved his dream definitely, but hopefully in the future we as a country can make the right steps towards creating the country and equality that MLK dreamed of.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/31/the-counted-police-killin.

“Criminal Justice Fact Sheet.” NAACP, www.naacp.org/criminal-justice-fact-sheet/.

“Racial Disparity.” The Sentencing Project, www.sentencingproject.org/issues/racial-disparity/.