Low-income African Americans, Latin Americans, and American Indians bear the statistical brunt of policing, death penalty verdicts, and sentencing disparities in the United States. Why does this long-standing inequity exist in a country where schoolchildren are taught to expect “justice for all”? The original essays in this two-volume set not only examine the deep-rooted issues and lay out theories as to why racism remains a problem in our prison system, but they also provide potential solutions to the problem. The work gives a broad, multicultural overview of the history of overrepresentation of ethnic minorities in our prison system, examining white/black disparities as well as racism and issues of ethnic-based discrimination concerning other ethnic minorities. This up-to-date resource is ideally suited for undergraduate students who are enrolled in criminal justice or racial/ethnic studies classes and general readers interested in the U.S. criminal justice system.

Features

• Presents a historical examination of racial and ethnic influences in the early formation of the criminal justice system
• Allows readers to identify the ways in which our prison system has changed throughout history regarding racism—and the ways in which it has remained the same
• Provides a critical analysis of the current race- and ethnicity-based criminal justice system
• Identifies intersectionalities of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status within the criminal justice system