Date Presented

Spring 5-1-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Criminology

First Advisor

Dr. Ed DeClair

Second Advisor

Dr. Jeremy Langett

Abstract

Black people and people of low socioeconomic status are disproportionately incarcerated in the United States of America. For a country that prides itself on being a “melting pot” of people and cultures, this is an extremely impactful issue. One of the byproducts of the disproportionate incarceration that occurs is that Black people and/or people of low socioeconomic status are also given longer sentences than their White and upper-class counterparts. This is a problem because those who have certain traits that they cannot change or would have a hard time changing are being negatively affected by implicit bias held by others in positions of power within the criminal justice field. When people commit a crime they should be sentenced the same as any other person who has committed that crime. Being diverse, especially culturally, is one of the things that America is known for. However, if the criminal justice system treats people differently, then there is no purpose to diversity

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