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The Color of Justice

Cracked Up—Discriminatory Sentencing in the War on Drugs

According to Michelle Alexander, racial discrimination still exists in crack sentencing laws. To support her statement, Alexander used a controversial court case (United States v. Edward Clary) as an example. She claimed that the court treated Edward Clary, an 18 year old African American and first time offender, unfairly. Clary was found guilty with possession of crack cocaine, but was sentenced under laws that punish crack offenses one hundred times more severely than offenses involving powder cocaine. He was sentenced to a minimum of ten years in prison. Clary’s lawyers argued that the law is irrational and it is deliberate as to discriminate against African Americans, since approximately 93 percent of crack offenders were black. In the end, however, Clary lost the case. This led Alexander to believe that racism plays a role in criminal punishment.

Charging Ahead—Armstrong v. United States

In this book, Michelle Alexander mentioned that no one has more power in the criminal justice system than the prosecutors themselves. She believes that race is definitely a factor in determining how you are treated in society. Numerous studies have shown that youth of color are more likely to be arrested, detained , transferred to adult court compared to white youth. With that being said, Alexander also mentioned in the book that in the State of Washington, it was found that in the juvenile sentencing reports, black and white cases were written and described very differently. Blacks committed crimes because of their internal personality flaws such as disrespect and rebel. Whereas whites did so because of external conditions or problems such as family conflict, or peer pressure.

In Defense of the All-White Jury—Purkett v. Elm

Further info: Jury selection in the United States § Discrimination

An all-white jury is a situation where a jury in a criminal trial or grand jury investigation is composed only of white people. Until 1860, no black person had ever sat on a jury in the United States. According to Michelle Alexander, the Court did not extend any substantial protection against jury discrimination in the following years. Since potential jurors are selected based on the list of registered voters and Department of Motor Vehicle lists, about 30 percent of black men are automatically banned from jury service for life because people of color are significantly less likely to own cars or register to vote. In Purkett v. Elm, in 1995, respondent was convicted of second degree robbery in a Missouri court. Alexander mentioned that the Supreme Court ruled that any race-neutral reason is acceptable, and so, the prosecutor justified his strikes of black jurors by claiming that he was suspicious of the juror’s long curly hair, mustache and goatee type beard. The Court sent a clear message that reasons offered by a prosecutor are acceptable for excluding prospective black jurors—no matter how irrational the reasons may seem.

Race and Crime page

Notable Cases

Edward Clary

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Edward James CLARY, Defendant
Edward Clary was an African American man who was arrested for possession with intent to distribute 67.76 grams of cocaine base. Clary was 18 year old during that time, and a first time offender. He pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and therefore sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in federal prison. However, Clary’s lawyers argued that the law is irrational and it is deliberate as to discriminate against African Americans, since approximately 93 percent of crack offenders were black. The argument continues, providing longer sentences for possession of crack cocaine than for the identical amount of powder cocaine.

Racism page

Unconscious Racism

Based on Forbes Leadership website, understanding race includes understanding how race operates in our minds out of awareness. Widely reported examples include significant racial bias in job applications, restaurant service, to court cases. According to Social Psychologist Jennifer L. Eberhardt, a professor in Stanford University, race can influence our visual processing and how our minds work when we are exposed to faces of different colors subliminally. As she says, “blackness is so associated with crime you’re ready to pick out these crime objects.” These exposures influence our mind and can cause unconscious racism in our behavior towards other people or even objects. Racism goes beyond prejudicial discrimination and bigotry. It arises from stereotypes and fears that we are not aware of.