Living Room Conversations: Race and Incarceration

The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Between 1970-2005 the U.S. population grew by 44% while the prison population grew by a staggering 700%. People of color represent over 60% of state prison populations. Multiple studies of these racial disparities identify three recurrent explanations: policies and practices that drive disparity; the role of bias and stereotypes in decision-making; and structural disadvantages in communities of color which are associated with high rates of offending and arrest. As a result, Black men are 6 times more likely to be imprisoned than white men and more than twice as likely to be imprisoned than Hispanic men. The Sentencing Project writes that “African Americans are more likely than white  Americans to be arrested; once arrested, they are more  likely to be convicted; and once convicted, they are more likely to face stiff sentences.” These statistics paint a bleak picture independent of potential disagreements about  which systemic factors contribute to them and why. Is this what we want for our country? Can we do better?

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