Title: Constitutional Rights Foundation
Headings: Articles
Articles
The Color of Justice
The Color of Justice
Arrest
Plea Bargaining
Jury Verdicts
Sentencing
Death Penalty
For Discussion
Class Activity: Toward a Colorblind Justice System
I. Arrests
II. Plea Bargaining
III. Jury Verdicts
IV. Sentencing
V. Death Penalty
Debriefing Questions

Content: During the 1930s, a much larger part of the white population was poor, and whites committed a greater percentage of street crime. Whites then accounted for nearly 80 percent of those in prisons and jails compared to 36 percent today. The question of poverty alone may well account for many of the apparent inequalities in the system. A RAND Corporation study, however, unearthed some disturbing data. RAND compared the treatment of whites and blacks at key decision points in the criminal justice system. The researchers found that black defendants seemed to be treated more harshly at key points such as sentencing. But the researchers did not identify a cause for these inequalities. Later studies have provided more insight into this data. Arrest
African Americans accounted for more than a third of the arrests in 2010 for violent crimes. This far surpasses their numbers in the population.