Incarceration Essay Example for Free

Incarceration proveThere has been a lot of discussion regarding the prison universe in the United States but shortsighted efforts have been engaged in regard to the transformations detect in the composition of the jail universe. The law enforcement agents be under obligation by the federal, state, and local authorities to arrest and confine individuals who are criminal suspects. It is the craft of our judicial system to imprison individuals who are crime convicts. The confinement that is imposed on individuals whether prior to or after conviction is what is referred to as incarceration. Any person irrespective of race, color, sex, and age is subject to incarceration at least in theory according to the constitution. Studies have however continued to show increasing mental unsoundness in our penal institutions as more Afri canful Americans and Hispanics continue to account to a slightly larger percentage in comparison to the whites. This paper shall present an analysis of the structural contrast as observed in the judicial system within the United States. Structural InequalityStructural inequality is something that is touch virtually all societies around the world. This phenomenon however does not stem from the variations amongst individuals as generally thought, but it can be attributed to the meanings and values that individuals hold in regard to these variations. These values and meanings become systemized and thus the foundation of inequality in our society. The society becomes stratified based on differences between the individuals.This leads to a hierarchical society where prejudicious values and attitudes are developed which affects the views held by the different categories of individuals (Bartels-Ellis, 2010). The US is among the worlds most confidential information jailers with a rating of 750 imprisonments in every 100,000 individuals (Williams, 2009). The prison people is however dispro arrogateal with African Americans and the Hispanic s and separate minority groups accounting for a larger percentage compared to the majority whites.It is estimated that over 60% of the prison population is from the minority groups. The imbalance in the incarcerated population has been attributed to the war against drugs that has gained momentum in the recent past. This has had a monetary value on the minority groups though studies have continued to indicate that drug use is also a significant phenomenon amongst the whites. The judicial system has therefore been accused of racist discrimination when it comes to matters of fair and effective plan (Williams, 2009). Racial Bias in the Judicial SystemRacial inequalities have been observed when it comes to judicial matters in the United States. There are great variations in the incarceration of different racial groups that make up the population of the US (Martel, 2008). Studies have continued to reveal the unending trend of disparities in the criminal jurist system as revealed by the United States Census Bureau in 2000. According to the Bureau, there is un-proportional theatrical in the incarceration within the US penal institutions which happens to favor the whites.As of the year 2000, out of culture to 2 million adult prisoners, 63% were from the minority groups including the African Americans and Latinos. Such disparities are in contravention of the general population as it has been established that the minority groups account for only 25% of the general population (Human Rights Watch, 2002). Statistics According to Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), in every twenty blacks aged over 18, one is likely to be in prison whereas for the whites, the imprisonment rate is put at one in every one hundred eighty individuals.The African Americans and the Hispanics comprise of about 2/3 of the prison population. As of the year 2001, African American males and Hispanic males had a higher chance of being imprisoned compared to the whites. The blacks had a 32. 2 % chance Hispanics 17. 2% chance whereas the whites had a 6% chance. In the year 2003, African American prisoners accounted for a larger portion of those serving a term of more than one year at 44% of the prison population followed by the whites at 35% whereas the Hispanics accounted for the remaining 19% (Families Against Mandatory Minimums Foundation, 2010).