Page 20 - Sociology and You

the criminal justice system. African Americans have been affected in this area in two significant regards. First, African Americans are
more likely to be victimized by crime than are other groups.... Second, the dramatic rates at which African American males have come under some form of criminal justice supervision has created a com- plex set of consequences which affect not only individual victims and offenders, but families and communities as well (Mauer, 1999).
A first step in identifying the central issue is to find out who wrote the piece and understand the author’s purposes in writing it. Marc Mauer is the Assistant Director of The Sentencing Project, a non-profit organization engaged in research on criminal justice issues. In this paper, Mr. Mauer want- ed to explore the current status of African American males in America’s crim- inal justice system and recommend policies that would help change the sys- tem’s destructive impacts on public safety.
Practicing the Skill
Read another paragraph from Mr. Mauer’s paper and answer the questions that follow.
1. 2.
In assessing the extent to which racial bias within the criminal justice system has contributed to these disparities, there is mixed research evi- dence. Imposition of the death penalty provides the most compelling evidence for ongoing racial disparity. A series of studies has demon- strated that . . . the race of both victim and offender has a significant impact on the determination of a sentence of death as opposed to life in prison. [M]urder defendants charged with killing whites faced a 4.3 times greater chance of receiving death than those charged with killing blacks (Mauer, 1999).
According to Mauer, is it clear that African Americans receive harsher treatment from the courts?
Summarize the central issue of this paragraph in one sentence.
Applying the Skill
1. Bring to class three editorials from your local newspaper, national news- paper, or a newsmagazine. Try to find examples written by the publica- tions’ readers (“Letters to the Editor” are a good source for these) and professional writers.
2. Identify the central issue in each editorial.
3. Discuss how clearly each writer made his or her main point(s).
HB-6 Sociology Handbook