4%, among whites, it was 7.2%, and was 6.4% among Hispanics, yet African-Americans represent more than 57% of those incarcerated for drug offenses in state prisons (Coker pp). Police officers are more likely to stop African-Americans for traffic stops and once stopped, officers are more likely to search the vehicles of African-Americans. According to the 2001 traffic stop data in San Diego, African-American drivers had a sixty percent greater chance and

Racial Discrimination and the Death Penalty The United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that at the end of the year 2000 that there was 1,381,892 total number of prisoners under the jurisdiction of federal or state adult correctional authorities (State pp). During 2000, the prison population rose at the lowest rate since 1972 and had the smallest absolute increase since 1980 (State pp). Relative to the number

Essay Topic Examples 1.Reforming Sentencing Laws:     This essay will explore how modifying rigid sentencing laws, such as mandatory minimums for non-violent offenses, could reduce the United States' incarceration rates. It will delve into the potential for sentencing reform to offer more discretionary power to judges and foster rehabilitative rather than purely punitive justice strategies. 2.Enhancing Drug Treatment Programs:     The essay will examine the role of drug addiction in contributing to high incarceration rates and

incarceration in the United States exhibits extreme racial disparity. There are significantly more African-Americans in the prison system than there are in the general population in fact, almost 50% of those incarcerated at any given time are black men and yet the U.S. population is comprised of only 12% African-Americans. (Clear & Cole 2002, Chapter 19) Cole and Clear give three main explanations for this disparity, differential criminality among

A judge's discretion can mean the difference between a young African-American person going to jail and having his or her life irreparably damaged or being placed in a program that might have a chance to save a human being. While judges cannot be caseworkers, they can look at the circumstances of a young offender's life to make rational and reasoned evaluations of someone's risk to society. This can be demonstrated

The judge must choose a sentence from within the guideline range unless the court identifies an aggravating or mitigating circumstance that was not adequately considered by the Sentencing Commission. In mandatory minimum drug cases, judges can depart only upon motion from the government stating that a defendant has provided substantial assistance in the investigation or prosecution of another person. All guideline drug sentences are indirectly affected by the mandatory minimums.