Book: Black and White, by Paul Volponi
Topic: Racial inequality in the American criminal justice system
Search Terms:
1. Racial Profiling
2. The Constitution and Racial Profiling
3. “Race and Crime in the United States”
4. Inner City Crime
5. Race and Law
6. Racism in the Criminal Justice System
7. “Social Issues in America”
Racial Inequality in the Criminal Justice System
In Black and White, by Paul Volponi, the main characters, Eddie and Marcus, experience the issue of inequality in the American criminal justice system firsthand. In Black and White, Eddie Russo and Marcus Brown commit the same crime, yet Marcus is sentenced to serve time in jail, while Eddie is not (this can be assumed, based on what was said in the book). Racial inequality in the American criminal justice system is a pressing issue in this nation. The justice system in this nation was not created to punish individuals based on race, or any other physical characteristic. The future of criminals is to be decided simply based on if they are guilty or not guilty. I know that African American citizens make up about forty percent of the all criminals in the United States. I also know that incorporating race into the justice system in wrong, based on the values and ideals this nation was founded on. I know that citizens of this country are working to put an end to this issue in our country. According to the United States Bureau of Justice, there were, “3,042 black male prisoners per 100,000 black males in the United States, compared to 1,261 Hispanic male prisoners per 100,000 Hispanic males and 487 white male prisoners per 100,000 white males,” in 2006 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_inequality_in_the_American_criminal_justice_system). Though the government has outlawed racist practices in society, such as segregation, racism still exists today. The African American race is the most common race to be convicted for violent crimes; “African Americans were arrested more than any other race for murder in 2008, making up 36% of all arrests” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_crime_in_the_United_States). This is important to me because, from both a social and religious standpoint, I believe that all people in this world should be equal and therefore be treated as such.
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