After Research, I do feel that minorities are overrepresented within the criminal justice system. For example, "a suit filed Jan. 6 in Union County, N.J., alleges that a state law denying voting rights to parolees and probationers discriminates against blacks and Hispanics due to their overrepresentation in the criminal justice system"(Penal Disenfranchisement Law Called Biased). A good deal of research has noted major disparities in the extent of involvement of minorities, particularly blacks compared to whites, in the criminal justice system. The existence of disproportionate racial representation in the criminal justice system raises questions about the fundamental fairness and equality of treatment of these criminals by the police, courts, and other personnel connected with the criminal justice system."By definition, overrepresentation only occurs when, for example, crime statistics show that acts of violence, car accidents, traffic violations, and other crimes are committed at a higher rate by protected minorities than by "whites"." (Definition: Over Represented) I feel that minorities are overrepresented within the criminal justice system, but not because of prejudices within the system. I feel that overrepresentation of minorities is based upon the percentage of the population in the U.S.Based on studies and reports, racial bias exists in the U.S criminal justice system. A new report issued by a coalition of civil rights organizations calls the "massively and pervasively biased" treatment on blacks and Hispanics by the U.S police and courts the major civil rights problem of the twenty-first century entitled "Justice on Trial: Racial Disparities in the American Criminal Justice System." The study finds that minorities in the US face discriminatory treatment at every stage of the judicial process, from arrest to incarceration. The report was issued by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights based in Washington DC. Its findings show that blacks, Hispanics and other minorities face unfair targeting by police and other law enforcement officials, racially biased charging and plea bargaining decisions by prosecutors and discriminatory sentencing by judges.In a report released from Washington DC- Amnesty International criticized Us Federal and state justice systems as riddled with racial discrimination. The report, Racism and the Administration of Justice, cites as evidence the disproportionate rate of minorities incarcerated, sentenced to death, and executed in the US. In its report, Amnesty International cited cases of racial profiling, unlawful use of force, unlawful shootings, and deaths in custody affecting minorities from at least 10 states in the US. African Americans and other minorities suffer disproportionate rates of incarceration, accounting for 60 percent of the 1.7 million people currently in jail or prison in the US. African American men are imprisoned at more than eight times the rate of white men, and one third of...
