Title: Racial disparities in the criminal justice system: Eight charts illustrating how it’s stacked against blacks.
Headings: What It’s Like to Be Black in the Criminal Justice System
What It’s Like to Be Black in the Criminal Justice System
These eight charts suggest there are racial disparities at every phase of the justice system.
1. Black Americans are more likely to have their cars searched.
2. Black Americans are more likely to be arrested for drug use.
3. Black Americans are more likely to be jailed while awaiting trial.
4. Black Americans are more likely to be offered a plea deal that includes prison time.
5. Black Americans may be excluded from juries because of their race.
6. Black Americans are more likely to serve longer sentences than white Americans for the same offense.
7. Black Americans are more likely to be disenfranchised because of a felony conviction.
8. Black Americans are more likely to have their probation revoked.

Content: All charts by Derreck Johnson. Advertisement
2. Black Americans are more likely to be arrested for drug use. Police arrest black Americans for drug crimes at twice the rate of whites, according to federal data, despite the fact that whites use drugs at comparable rates and sell drugs at comparable or even higher rates. Source: Bureau of Justic Statistics
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3. Black Americans are more likely to be jailed while awaiting trial. A 2014 study in New York City showed that blacks were more likely than whites or nonblack minorities to be in jail while they await trial, even after controlling for the seriousness of charges and prior record. Other research suggests that this disparity is often due to the fact that black defendants cannot afford to pay bail. The temporary incarceration stigmatizes the defendant, disrupts family life and employment, and makes it harder for the defendant to prepare a defense.