Why are there so many black men in Prison?

Introduction

As African Americans migrated from Africa, they were not treated on equality. Blacks were discriminated in every field of life. Blacks are so much suppressed by the racial discrimination that they become frustrated and angry; they are not getting their rights. They are not born criminals but social discrimination compels them to commit crime. Whether it is education, health or punishments for specific crimes, Blacks were discriminated in each field as compared to Whites.

According to author “There is no doubt that racial discrimination do prevail. If this statement is false then why there are different treatments and punishments for Blacks, Latinos as compared to Whites”. This is true because trail in courts were not conducted on the basis of gender equality; decision of the judge could be influenced by color, creed, and race of the criminal. High discrimination was founded when it comes to punishments, usually Blacks were send to jail for longer period as compared to Whites even if both commits same crime. This is pure form of bias or racial judiciary system, which really frustrates Blacks and they are forced to do crimes because they are treated like that. Many criminologists argue that it is not true that African Americans commit most of the crimes instead it is the criminal behavior that is high amongst African Americans (Barkan & Steve, pp. 160).

Theoretical Perspective

Why African Americans are so much involved in crime? Most of the people in the mid of 20th century believed that this attitude in Blacks is due to their physical inferiority. Conversely, modern scholars completely reject these explanations as racist and concluded that there could be structural conditions due to which Blacks may be involved in more crimes. There could be many reasons like social injustice, discrimination, frustration etc so let's analyze these factors one by one:

Extreme Poverty

According to author “Economic deprivation is the one structural condition due to which Blacks relatively more inclined towards crimes”. This argument is fully justified as Blacks are living in extreme poor conditions without having even basic necessities of life. Family stress, frustration, and economic needs can compel anyone to choose the wrong path to earn bread n better for the family. As African Americans are more likely to live in poor conditions as compared to other races, chances are high in them to commit a crime.

Urban Residence

Studies prove that law and order situation occur more in big cities as compare small towns or rural areas. No matter from which race you belong, people living in urban areas have more chance to commit a crime or to become a victim. African Americans outside the south usually lives in urban areas, they have high rates of crime and victimization (Charles, pp. 275).

Racial Discrimination

Another major reason for this behavior can be racial discrimination, which Blacks faced at every stage of life. Let it be education, health, safety etc rights of Blacks are exploited everywhere. This attitude really makes Blacks angry, frustrated which, in turn, compels ...