Race and Criminal Justice
The 桃子视频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.
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What We're Focused On
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Debtors' Prisons
The 桃子视频and its affiliates have been exposing and challenging modern-day debtors鈥� prisons, urging governments and courts to pursue more rational and equitable approaches to criminal legal system debt.
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Racial Profiling
The ACLU鈥檚 work on racial profiling encompasses major initiatives in litigation, public education, and advocacy, including lobbying for passage of data collection and anti-profiling legislation and litigating on behalf of individuals who have been victims of racial profiling.
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.