Social science research shows striking racial disparities at nearly every level of the criminal justice system—from arrest rates, to bail amounts, to sentence lengths, to probation hearing outcomes. Examining issues from arrest disparities to felony disenfranchisement, Business Insider explores what it’s like to be black in the U.S. justice system.
Most U.S. states restrict the voting rights of citizens convicted of crimes. Since black Americans are over-represented in the criminal justice system, voter disenfranchisement has a disproportionate effect on the black population. According to recent estimates from The Sentencing Project, 2.5 percent of all Americans are disenfranchised due to a current or past felony conviction. For blacks, the figure is 7.7 percent, or about 1 in 13.
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