Spencer Sexton
19 December 2016
HUMN 245
Term Paper
Imprisonment Inequality
The United States prison and justice systems effectiveness and methods have been
questioned for quite some time now. From overcrowding, heinous penalties for non-
violent crimes, and an obvious bias against minorities, the system has failed to do its part
in serving justice. It leaves people who get out of prison unable to find any employment
at any capacity, especially minorities. This leads to many falling back into criminal life
and ending right back up in prison. This high rate of recidivism is caused because people
cannot provide for themselves or family when outside of prison. They revert to crime and
drugs to support themselves. It’s a vicious cyclical cycle that is hard to escape. According
to research, African-American children born in the early 2000’s have a one-third chance
of going to prison in the future and are 8 times more likely to go to prison than whites
(Shelden). Minorities, especially in lower income neighborhoods, are treated differently
and serve harsher sentences than many of their white or wealthy counterparts. This is due
to a corrupt justice system that seeks extensive charges for non-violent crimes such as
drugs. This same justice system that promises equality and liberty for all, runs off of
money and power, usually with minorities left behind to fend for themselves.
The United States has more incarcerated persons per capita than any other country
in the world, 25% of the worlds prisoners and only 5% of the world population. African-
Americans and Hispanics make up over 58% of incarcerated persons in the United States
Overcrowding and outbreaks or riots have been the result of a rampant arrest rate of
Americans. The attribution to this increase in number can be related to the fact that most
incarcerated people come from impoverished areas where crime is a part of the social
community (NAACP). Drugs and the war on drugs have had a substantial impact on
imprisonment rates, especially among minorities. After the war on drugs began,
perpetuated by President Richard Nixon, drug related imprisonments increased 478%
between 1985-1995. Of these arrests, the percentage of minorities arrested for drug
related crime increased while the percentage rate for whites essentially remained the
same (Shelden). The disparities between the number of incarcerated minorities versus
white people is shocking, especially when the white population is the majority and
committing the same amount if not more crimes than minorities. The question is, how is
