Sentencing and Death Penalty Disparities
African Americans are disproportionately sentenced to life in prison, face harsher drug sentences, and are executed at higher rates compared with all other races. Research has shown that the criminal justice system is particularly severe for some African Americans in several states.
[ Read More ]African American Juvenile Confinement
Youth of color are disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system. African American youth are disproportionately overrepresented at every stage of the juvenile justice system from arrest through sentencing. [ Read More ]
Eliminate disparate treatment of blacks in all aspects of law enforcement and criminal justice systems.
| Target Area: | Eliminating capricious racial profiling practices | Ensuring fair and equitable trials and sentences | Ensuring felony re-entry | Promoting a moratorium of the death penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Definition: | Identify and monitor practices and policies which lead to unscientific use of race and ethnicity in police and investigative actions |
Equity in arrest, interrogation, pre-sentencing, jury selection, discovery, trial, sentencing, appeal phases
Ensure that juveniles are appropriately protected and rehabilitated |
Ensure that incarcerated and released felons have access to appropriate voting, education, job training and civic participation resources | Ensure government and states place moratorium on utilization of capital punishment until race and ethnicity is no longer statistically significant in predicting sentencing and execution |
| Size of Gap: | Blacks represent 12% of total population yet represent 29.5% of those arrested | Once arrested, blacks are three times more likely to be incarcerated than whites | 54% of blacks and 50% of whites return to prison after 3 years | Of 682 defendants charged with federal crimes subject to death penalty 20% were white, 80% minority |
| Advocacy and Services: | State and local stop-and-arrest monitoring programs |
Trial monitoring (S) |
Ensuring successful felony re-entry (A/S) |
Docket monitoring (S) |
| Partnerships: | Bureau of Justice Statistics U.S. DOJ, Community Relations Services |
National Bar Association Sentencing Project |
Tides Foundation African American Ministers NAACP Staff |
ACLU Northwestern Center for Wrongful Convictions |
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