Racial and Economic Discrimination in the American Criminal Justice System: An Investigation of and Alternatives to Judicial Sentencing in Criminal Courts in Non-Capital Cases

Abstract

My experiences as an investigator at the Public Defender Service for DC sparked my interest in this topic of racial and economic discrimination in the criminal justice system. I examine previous research and case studies from different states across the United States dealing with sentencing disparities at various levels of severity in non-capital criminal behavior and draw conclusions. I then consider alternative sentencing options, including programs for drug rehabilitation, mental health institutions, counseling, education programs, job training, and other community outreach programs that might offer a better chance at reforming those convicted of criminal behavior. These alternatives will provide a greater capability for criminals to reform themselves and to improve their lives; judges, as I later show, discriminate based upon race during sentencing, and thus, decrease the capability of achievement, in Amartya Sen's terms, for those convicted of criminal behavior based upon race. . . . [From Introduction]