Title: Black Men and the Criminal Justice System
Headings: African American Men and the Criminal Justice System
African American Men and the Criminal Justice System
Why a disproportionate amount of Black men are in prison
Black Minors at Risk
Disparities Between Black and White Drug Users
A Quarter of Young Black Men Report Police Mistreatment
Race and the Death Penalty

Content: Zimmerman shot Martin after trailing him around a gated community because he viewed the Black teen, who wasn’t involved in any wrongdoing, as suspicious. Whether Black men are victims, perpetrators or simply going about their day, civil rights activists say they don’t get a fair shake in the U.S. legal system. Black men, for example, are more likely to receive stiffer sentences for their crimes, including the death penalty, than others do. They are imprisoned at six times the rate of white men, according to the Washington Post. Nearly 1 in 12 Black men age 25-54 are incarcerated, compared to 1 in 60 non-black men, 1 in 200 Black women and 1 in 500 non-Black women, the New York Times reported . In a number of the nation’s biggest cities, Black men are more likely to be treated as criminals and stopped and frisked by police without cause than any other group. The statistics below, compiled largely by ThinkProgress, further illuminate the experiences of African American men in the criminal justice system. Black Minors at Risk
The discrepancies in the punishments Black and white offenders receive can even be found among minors. According to the National Council on Crime And Deliquency, Black youth referred to juvenile court are likelier to be incarcerated or wind up in adult court or prison than white youth. Blacks make up roughly 30 percent of juvenile arrests and referrals to juvenile court as well as 37 percent of incarcerated juveniles, 35 percent of juveniles sent to criminal court and 58 percent of juveniles sent to adult prisons.