Reforming the Criminal Justice System

That the criminal justice system in the United States is biased is beyond dispute. Statistics abound that all confirm the same thing: if you are white and wealthy in the US, the odds that you will end up in jail are remarkably slim. Felony convictions send a disproportionately high number of African American and Hispanic men to prison, while their Caucasian counterparts remain free. The reasons behind this phenomenon are many too many to be listed in this brief overview. Any solution that intends to address crime and punishment in America, however, will have to understand and account for all of the factors that inform this massive injustice, and rectify as many of these as possible.

A plan to reform the criminal justice system must address the following five general problems: 1) the lack of racial parity within the criminal justice system (from arrest to incarceration), 2) the lack of socio-economic class parity within the criminal justice system (specifically selective policing), 3) the overwhelming caseload bogging down criminal courts (at all levels), 4) the problem of extreme overcrowding in prisons, and 5) the lack of preparedness concerning prisoner release (and the rate of recidivism). Ultimately, if these problems are to be dealt with, time, money and other social resources will be necessary.

Adjusting for the lack of racial parity within the justice system will be difficult to do, as so much racial bias is difficult not only to trace, but even to percei

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