Race and Criminal Justice

The ACLU works to reduce the number of people incarcerated, surveilled and criminalized by law enforcement and in the courts, and aims to address the root causes of crime, such as poverty and lack of opportunity.

Racial Justice issue image

What you need to know

5X
Black people in the United States are incarcerated in state prisons at nearly five times the rate of white Americans.
1 in 81
Nationally, one in 81 Black adults in the U.S. is serving time in state prison.
1.3X
Latine individuals are incarcerated in state prisons at a rate that is 1.3 times the incarceration rate of whites.

What's at Stake

There are significant racial disparities in sentencing decisions in the United States. Sentences imposed on Black males in the federal system are nearly 20 percent longer than those imposed on white males convicted of similar crimes. Black and Latine defendants sentenced in state and federal courts face significantly greater odds of incarceration than similarly situated white defendants and receive longer sentences than their white counterparts in some jurisdictions.

These racial disparities are not unintentional. From the beginning, the war on drugs has decimated the Black community and communities of color, a result of sentencing disparities and selective enforcement of drug laws. Today, there are more Black people under the control of prison and corrections departments than were ever enslaved by this country.

These racial disparities result from disparate treatment of Black and Brown people at every stage of the criminal legal system, including stops and searches, arrests, prosecutions and plea negotiations, trials, sentencing, parole, and probation revocation decisions. Race matters at all phases and aspects of the criminal process, including the quality of representation, the charging phase, and the availability of plea agreements.

There are significant racial disparities in sentencing decisions in the United States. Sentences imposed on Black males in the federal system are nearly 20 percent longer than those imposed on white males convicted of similar crimes. Black and Latine defendants sentenced in state and federal courts face significantly greater odds of incarceration than similarly situated white defendants and receive longer sentences than their white counterparts in some jurisdictions.

These racial disparities are not unintentional. From the beginning, the war on drugs has decimated the Black community and communities of color, a result of sentencing disparities and selective enforcement of drug laws. Today, there are more Black people under the control of prison and corrections departments than were ever enslaved by this country.

These racial disparities result from disparate treatment of Black and Brown people at every stage of the criminal legal system, including stops and searches, arrests, prosecutions and plea negotiations, trials, sentencing, parole, and probation revocation decisions. Race matters at all phases and aspects of the criminal process, including the quality of representation, the charging phase, and the availability of plea agreements.

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