Looking Closer at Prison Populations
After being introduced to “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander, I became curious on whether these discrepancies of race remained in the state level. Through searching, I was able to find the most recent information on the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ website. The most recent information available on the census of prisoners was based on a census from 2016.
This first table on page eight of the full report describes ten years of general demographic characteristics from 2006 to 2016. In the last three columns, it is obvious that Alexander’s argument is true, based on the unequal rates of imprisonment.
Tables nine and ten illustrate imprisonment rates based on sex, race, hispanic origin, and age. Based on this information, it is evident that males are more likely to be sentenced and that those aged 25-34 are more likely to be sentenced. Not only is age prominent, but also more black males are sentenced compared to white males, further proving Alexander’s argument.
These next tables demonstrate that in 2015 blacks and hispanics were more likely to be sentenced for violence and whites were more likely to be sentenced for property related offenses. However, in 2016, there is an increase in drug offenses, which consist mostly of blacks and hispanics. Whites had an increase in public order, but in the subcategories, there were proportionately more blacks sentenced for weapons, while most whites were sentenced for other public offenses, maintaining a view of blacks being violent.
In these last tables, the prison populations are separated by race, hispanic origin, and state. In Alabama, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Marylland, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia, there were more blacks in prison compared to whites. However, the amount of hispanics in prisons should not be ignored because in Arizona, California and Texas also had more in prison compared to whites. These would require further research in the population of the states which is exemplified by Texas, since the populations of the prisoners are both large and similar. From a quick glance, it appears that there is a shift from non-white people being incarcerated for drugs and being imprisoned for violent offenses.
Carson, E. Ann. “Prisoners in 2016.” Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), 9 Jan. 2018, www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=6187.
Alexander, Michelle. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incercelation in the Age of Colorblindness. The New Press, 2012.
It's interesting to see these facts hold up, especially in states that are considered more liberal, like California. Not that I doubted Alexander's findings, but I didn't expect California to be as bad as it is, or any liberal state for that matter, to be this bad. Your mention of black males being in incarcerated for more violent crimes furthering the depiction of black males being extremely violent, reminded me of Professor Block's lectures. I remember she described how black males were portrayed as very aggressive and essentially as predators. Many were accused of rape, which only furthered their violent and aggressive stereotype, seeing as they were accused (and typically convinced) of raping defenseless white women. Many times these allegations were most likely false, but seeing as the juries were made up of whites, who largely held prejudices against blacks, the conviction was almost a given. This stereotype was created to play into the public's fear, giving them reason to be scared of blacks. Not only that, it gave them reason to want blacks locked up, which as a result kept blacks inferior to whites-- which is what those in power wanted. Times may have changed, but the stereotypes are still largely held.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting topic that you selected. It's really sad to confirm what we already knew about our Criminal Justice system, but it really goes to show what we learned in lectures and seminar about the race and race craft, and how the prison industrial complex is really a continuation and perpetuation of the Jim Crow laws. You mentioned about the discrepancies between incarceration rates, and how it's higher for black males within a certain age group, and that they are labelled as violent because of the crimes they are put in for, like having weapons. It would have been nice to know your stance on this since you only listed the facts, but it was very insightful. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI really like that you included statistics and charts to show and prove Michelle Alexander's claims and also to make it more relevant to us by including specific data on California rates. I also wrote a blog post relating to this topic as I found interest in it when I first learned about the unfairness of the Criminal justice system in my Introduction to Criminology class last quarter, and when I heard about it again in seminar this quarter. Just like I mentioned in my blog post, it seems that the racism that created slavery is not gone, but rather still exists in our society in a different form as we see the minorities targeted by the law and police, and it's sad to see that proven true by the facts you provided. I also agree with the previous comment, that it would have been nice to see your opinion and thoughts on this topic along with the statistics and different facts.
ReplyDeleteI really like that you included statistics and charts to show and prove Michelle Alexander's claims and also to make it more relevant to us by including specific data on California rates. I also wrote a blog post relating to this topic as I found interest in it when I first learned about the unfairness of the Criminal justice system in my Introduction to Criminology class last quarter, and when I heard about it again in seminar this quarter. Just like I mentioned in my blog post, it seems that the racism that created slavery is not gone, but rather still exists in our society in a different form as we see the minorities targeted by the law and police, and it's sad to see that proven true by the facts you provided. I also agree with the previous comment, that it would have been nice to see your opinion and thoughts on this topic along with the statistics and different facts.
ReplyDelete