Paul''s Case

Wendlassida Ouedraogo

English101-01

Ms.Claytor

7 May 2012

African American Males in the Judicial System

The existence of African American males in the judicial system and the disproportionate representation is no new phenomena. Research indicates that, historically, African American males have been seen to be overly represented in arrests, conviction and imprisonment cases

This paper seeks to address the population of African American males in the judicial system. It will focus on the factors that have led to their disproportionate number in arrests, conviction and incarceration. In addition, current challenges faced by the population will be discus

The existence of African American males in the judicial system and the disproportionate representation is no new phenomena. Research indicates that, historically, African American males have been seen to be overly represented in arrests, conviction and imprisonment cases. This history of this disproportionality will now be looked at. Research conducted by Western and Pettit (2010) indicate that as early as the late nineteenth century the rate of incarceration has been higher among African Americans than whites. Western and Pettit reveal data from the U.S. Census which indicate that in the late nineteenth century, African Americans were incarcerated at a rate twice as high as that of their white counterparts. This was in part attributed to the Africans of the South migrating to the North in an effort to escape and break down the effects of Jim Crow laws in the South. This migration led to a disparate number of African Americans being incarcerated in the North. This continued all the way up to the first half of the twentieth century (Western & Pettit, 2010).

This unequal gap in incarceration of African Americans compared to whites continued into the 1960s where racial tensions were at their peak in light of the civil rights...