Madison Ryan

Block 4
Hillesland
5 September 2016
The Incarceration Race

Last Friday, a white young male named Brock Turner was released halfway through his
six month sentence; a sentence given to him for a guilty verdict in the graphic rape case of a
young woman. Meanwhile, the average incarcerated African American male still wastes away in
a four year sentence for the illicit use of drugs.
According to the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People), black inmates constitute over one million of the 2.3 million convicts currently in federal
prisons. Whats more, is that approximately half of the incarcerated population is convicted on
simple drug offenses rather than violent or harmful activity. Offenses that earn them about five
years jail time - the same punishment for a white persons violent crime. The U.S. Department of
Justice reports that hispanic and black people take up over three quarters of convicted drug
offenders, indicating a huge racial gap in conviction rates in the U.S.
Its old news that the U.S.A. holds more than 25 percent of the worlds population of
prisoners, but the recent developments in the Turner vs. U.S. case has kicked up a flurry of
protest over the privilege of white men in the criminal justice system. Similar cases, like that of
black convict Corey Batey, have led to sentences of fifteen to twenty years in prison. So why
was Brock Turner given a six month sentence? The judge presiding over Turners case, Aaron
Persky, claimed that a prison sentence would have a severe impact on him. In short, it was
Turners skill in swimming competitively that saved him time in prison. He had dreams, places
to go. But so did Batey. A star football player on his college team, he still had to endure a two
decade sentence for the same crime that Turner did.
All men are created equal is perhaps the most famous line from the Declaration of
Independence, yet for some reason, wasnt applied to Batey and Turner. So what made them
different in the eyes of the court? The only reasonable conclusion would be the fact that only one
of them did not have white skin. The statistics in how black and white people are treated in the
American Criminal Justice system tell us that there seems to be a bit of disconnect between the
founding American documents and the rights of the general American people. Though awe
inspiring for revolutionaries at the time, the Declaration did little to soothe or help the peoples
not in power - women, Native Americans, and, in this case, African Americans. Though the
document was written 240 years ago, its promises for equality have not yet been fully carried out
by those in power.
In the past century, large strides have been made toward the equality promised to us by
our Founding Fathers. Those who did not and do not suffer the injustice today, such as the white
majority (who, statistically, use drugs five times more than black people, yet are ten times less
likely to get arrested), probably think weve reached it already. However, those still oppressed
today, specifically the black people of America (who are predicted to have one in three rate of
incarceration), do not agree. Just two weeks ago, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a young 23 year old
male was shot by police for no other reason than fleeing a traffic stop. The following civil
unrest called attention to the severe and disproportionate treatment of black people to white
people in that area.
Milwaukee has reported the highest and longest incarceration rates of black people in the
U.S. Beverly Walker, a local activist for black rights, has a husband who has been convicted and
held prisoner for about twenty years for acting as an accessory to an armed robbery. An armed
robbery in which no one was hurt. While over 12.8% of the black male population in Milwaukee
has been arrested, convicted, and held for unreasonable amounts of time, only 1.2% of white
males have suffered the same way. Legislation has pointedly been ignoring this issue for several
years, says Walker. The community is out, trying to get the attention of the governor and the
legislature, and were just not getting what we need. These endless cries for help have been met
with negligence, and of course, opposition.
Such protesters may claim that incarceration is the convicted persons fault. Its a matter
of choice whether the break the law or not. Whether a black convict is kept in prison for twenty
years or two years is their own fault. Its a paradigm that, since the majority of convicted black
criminals are uneducated and/or poor, they were raised in conditions that led to them becoming
violent and lawless. This of course, leads to the issue of black-on-black crime. Black-on-
Black crime is the continued problem of black people conflicting, confronting, and killing each
other, and that their behavior alone is what disenfranchises them today. White people,
statistically, have little to do with it in the grand scope of the problem.
While it is, of course, undeniable that being in prison is a consequence of ones own poor
actions, what this argument fails to recognize is the clear systemic flaws in the criminal justice
system. Moving back to the Brock Turner case, the evidence concerning Turner was nearly
airtight. Scientific evidence gathered from the victims clothes and body, several eyewitness
accounts while he was in the act of rape, and his capture by the police after he fled the scene all
contributed to an open and shut case. Instead, he was in prison for only three months, and his
quick escape from media last Friday only seemed to fan the flames of injustice. Shouldnt Turner
have been convicted and sent to prison like the others guilty of his crimes? Or do his dreams of
being a white swimmer outweigh the rights of black men; men, much like Walkers husband,
prisoner for almost 80 times the length of Turners sentence, for a crime far less weighty?
Our own Bill of Rights prohibits the use of cruel or unusual punishment. But, it seems, if
the staggering ratio of black to white prisoners is anything to go by, that this amendment is not
often heeded in our modern society. It is safe to assume that the Founding Fathers intended such
rights and liberties to go only to white men, but such intentions are not condoned or so
shamelessly practiced in todays society. Today, black people are greatly recognized as the free
and equal people they are in our general populace. However, the criminal justice system has yet
to do the same.
Commented [1]: Work on the seamless flow of ideas.
All of the paragraphs seem more separate than
connected. I would put some sort of transition when
introducing a new paragraph to make everything flow
and connect.
Commented [2]: _Marked as resolved_
Commented [3]: _Re-opened_
Commented [4]: Watch your usage and mechanics.
Not just in this sentence, but throughout your editorial,
there are places where using a different words choice
might create a stronger emphasis. Also there are some
little grammatical errors throughout.
Commented [5]: _Marked as resolved_
Commented [6]: _Re-opened_
Commented [7]: This is a top notch editorial. It is well
thought out and your arguments are well chosen and
fully developed. You have a very strong voice in your
writing which contributes greatly to your particular style.
Your strong voice throughout the passage also helps
keep the reader in tune with your ideas and what you
are striving for. However, at the very ends of your
paragraph when you are transitioning it feels rough.
Almost like if you were cruising at a constant speed in a
car, braked suddenly, than resumed to your constant
speed. And that prevents a full, constant stream of
ideas. Also there are minor grammar errors as Melanie
has stated. I give you a 7 but it is really close to a 8. All
you have to do is work on those transitions and fix
those grammar problems and have got a strong,solid 8.
Commented [8]: Your examples are well chosen and I
like your complex and varied sentence structures. You
stated a lot of facts, which I wasn't sure about at first,
but you managed to bring out your argument through
them, which I liked. I would give your editorial an 8. The
editorial was complex and had a sophisticated style. I
will add, however, that it is leaning towards a 7 just
because of the lack of flow and the errors in usage and
mechanics. I would give you a 8, though, because of
the examples, and the complexity throughout.
Commented [9]: _Marked as resolved_
Commented [10]: _Re-opened_
 Bibliography

"Criminal Justice Fact Sheet." NAACP. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet>.

Joseph, George. "How Wisconsin Became the Home of Black Incarceration." CityLab.
N.p., 17 Aug. 2016. Web. 03 Sept. 2016. <http://www.citylab.com/crime/2016/08/how-
wisconsin-became-the-home-of-black-incarceration/496130/>.

Gibson, C. Robert. "5 Facts That Shatter the Myth of 'Black-on-Black' Crime." U.S.
Uncut. N.p., 29 Dec. 2015. Web. 03 Sept. 2016. <http://usuncut.com/black-lives-
matter/black-on-black-crime/>.

Grinberg, Emanuella, and Catherine E. Shoichet. "Brock Turner Leaves Jail after Serving
3 Months for Sexual Assault." CNN. Cable News Network, 2 Sept. 2016. Web. 03 Sept.
2016. <http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/02/us/brock-turner-release-jail/>.

King, Shaun. "KING: Brock Turner, Cory Batey Show How Race Affects Sentencing."
NY Daily News. N.p., 07 June 2016. Web. 03 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/king-brock-turner-cory-batey-show-race-
affects-sentencing-article-1.2664945>.

Liptak, Adam. "U.S. Prison Population Dwarfs That of Other Nations." Americas. New
York Times, 23 Apr. 2008. Web. 3 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/world/americas/23iht-
23prison.12253738.html?_r=0>.

Taxy, Sam, Julie Samuels, and William Adams. Drug Offenders in Federal Prison:
Estimates of Characteristics Based on Linked Data (2015): n. pag. Bureau of Justice
Statistics. U.S. Department of Justice, 2015. Web. 3 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/dofp12.pdf>.