Immediately following the civil war, Black codes created a list of crimes punishable only when committed by black people. ... Fredrick Douglass claimed that many white criminals escaped punishment by blacking their faces during a robbery or a murder. Police always found an innocent black man to blame for the crime since, as Douglass pointed out, all Negroes look alike. ... Davis pointed out that crime has not increased since the 1970s, and that the vast majority of prisoners are serving sentences for nonviolent, often self-destructive crimes. ... The dividends that accrue from investment i...

• Word Count: 3043
• Approx Pages: 12

However, Butler does cite past and contemporary administration of the death penalty, disparities between punishments for white-collar crimes and punishments for other crimes, more severe penalties for crack cocaine users than for powder cocaine users, and the high rate of incarceration of African-American men.2 All arguments regarding Butler's thesis must be framed within the context of these problems, if not directly addressing them. ... First, in 1984 almost 46% of those arrested for violent crimes were Black, while Blacks constitute only about 12% of the national population on the whol...

• Word Count: 3584
• Approx Pages: 14
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Instead, they have suggested that the connections between race and sentencing outcomes are exceedingly complex, conditioned by a diverse set of variables, including characteristics of the defendant, the victim, the crime itself and the geographical area where it took place, as well as the bureaucratic organization of local courts, the culture of courtroom workgroups, and even broader features of the social and political environments in which case processing takes place. ... Furthermore, in responding to public demand for harsher and more certain punishment, the United States Congress passed t...

• Word Count: 2620
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

s philosophy of civil disobedience being the leading cause of crime. ... In the 1960s, crime rates rose for about 10 years; reported street crime quadrupled, and homicide rates doubled. However, the reason for crime can be explained by the "baby boom generation.... Barry Goldwater, in his presidential campaign of 1964, exploited the riots and fears of black crime, laying the foundation for the "get tough on crime movement.... " Welfare and crime were the major themes of Reagan's campaign rhetoric. ...

• Word Count: 4144
• Approx Pages: 17
• Has Bibliography

This is a stereotypical description of small towns of the South in those days: "Dawson's Landing was a slaveholding town, with a rich, slave-worked grain and pork country back of it."" (6) The reader soon learns that this innocent image is just upon the surface and in the depth we find slavery and crime. ...

• Word Count: 3258
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

After the shoe shine job outgrew Malcom, he went to work for the railroad during World War II, this job landed him in Harlem and into a life of crime that was the bases for his life prior to prison. ... His friend Shorty was in need of money and a job as well and Malcom began the crime spree that put him in prison. ... Malcom and Shorty received a sentence that reflected more than their breaking and entering crimes, the judge had to show them that they couldn't mess with good white women and get away with it. ...

• Word Count: 4036
• Approx Pages: 16
• Grade Level: High School

Racism has been a steady problem all through time. One of the most troublesome areas of racism is in places of education. Finding a cure for this would be a major step towards ending racism in general. No one has ever thought of a solution yet, and racism will be strong as long as there isn't one. It all started back when the colonists traded certain goods for slaves. ...

• Word Count: 2609
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School