But the OP does not speak directly about the cause. This went straight to bashing African-Americans, and even my attempt to discuss the issue reasonably went unnoticed, because let's face it, Chef has a problem with black people. Another reason why this discussion goes nowhere from the start is because Americans are shy to accept the fact that discrimination and bias exists in various legal and economic forms, to this date. Watch as you prove my point in 3.. 2..

 

If you or someone else is really interested in what's REALLY behind those numbers, go ahead and knock yourself out and please report back about the findings. This is a candidate for doctoral thesis for someone who is interested in social science...maybe it's been done already. All I know is that it's easy to throw these numbers and say "see? I told you" without knowing exactly how the data was taken etc. I can probably play that "game" all day long to prove my "points." Even if the numbers were taken objectively, study complete, and the scientists state the possible cause for the numbers you see, you can still chose to be intellectually lazy and believe in your prejudices. Many won't admit it, but the truth is, discriminations in many different forms exist in America and it is impossible to quantify their effect on society especially when the very cause itself is a "taboo" subject that nobody wants to discuss openly.

 

Ah...so we've now gone from racism to ethnocentrism...nice

University studies that have used stats in the OP:

http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...w=1280&bih=909

 

Ah...so we've now gone from racism to ethnocentrism...nice

University studies that have used stats in the OP:

http://www.google.co...iw=1280&bih=909
[/quote]

What?? Again, no one is saying the numbers are wrong, it's the analysis of figures that escapes folks leading them to make one-sided judgments about an entire demographic. You posted numbers but you mentioned nothing about the policies or factors that may give rise to the data were seeing, which represents either negligence or ignorance on your part (after all, YOU posted the thread). But you are welcome to prove my point; you don't want to admit that discrimination exists in this country, and it is equally hard for you to link economic and legal disadvantages to higher rates of crime, and thus, incarceration.

Since you are clearly a supporter of university studies:

http://www.ssc.wisc....0BlackAug04.pdf

http://www.otago.ac....otago014849.pdf

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3491312

http://www.asanet.or...d/ASRv69n2p.pdf

http://www.wjh.harva...ents/Design.pdf

http://psycnet.apa.o...cp/63/4/518.pdf

http://en.scientific...ns.org/57014794

http://www.mitpressj...335530151144122

Shall I continue my friend? OK

http://ajph.aphapubl...H.2010.300034v2

http://onlinelibrary...0663.x/abstract

http://www.sciencema...60/1641.summary

http://onlinelibrary...00_1.x/abstract

http://jhr.uwpress.o...t/46/1/26.short

http://journals.camb...008423910000120

More dude? You let me know.

indeed...

 

http://nymag.com/news/9-11/10th-anni...y/patriot-act/

 

Ah...so we've now gone from racism to ethnocentrism...nice

University studies that have used stats in the OP:

http://www.google.co...iw=1280&bih=909
[/quote]

What?? Again, no one is saying the numbers are wrong, it's the analysis of figures that escapes folks leading them to make one-sided judgments about an entire demographic. You posted numbers but you mentioned nothing about the policies or factors that may give rise to the data were seeing, which represents either negligence or ignorance on your part (after all, YOU posted the thread). But you are welcome to prove my point; you don't want to admit that discrimination exists in this country, and it is equally hard for you to link economic and legal disadvantages to higher rates of crime, and thus, incarceration.

Since you are clearly a supporter of university studies:

http://www.ssc.wisc....0BlackAug04.pdf

http://www.otago.ac....otago014849.pdf

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3491312

http://www.asanet.or...d/ASRv69n2p.pdf

http://www.wjh.harva...ents/Design.pdf

http://psycnet.apa.o...cp/63/4/518.pdf

http://en.scientific...ns.org/57014794

http://www.mitpressj...335530151144122

Shall I continue my friend? OK

http://ajph.aphapubl...H.2010.300034v2

http://onlinelibrary...0663.x/abstract

http://www.sciencema...60/1641.summary

http://onlinelibrary...00_1.x/abstract

http://jhr.uwpress.o...t/46/1/26.short

http://journals.camb...008423910000120

More dude? You let me know.

indeed...
[/quote]

Policies? I'm sorry...I was under the impression that if you are convicted of a crime you go to jail. Laws are not biased or racial. They are the same across all demographics.

I would agree that those that are in the lower, impoverished eco-classes would be more inclined to show higher criminal convictions than those of middle and upper classes...but then a whole slew of questions get opened by this as well.

 

Haha dude, seriously? Did you click on any of the links I posted? Clearly you didn't. In case you have little to no experience with the courts, laws are not fed into computers that are omnipotent and can collect and process all the facts leading up to any particular conviction/acquittal/whatever. Laws are implemented by humans, a species known to show bias and can harbor racial prejudices. In some cases, pure ignorance may lead to wrongful convictions, even capital punishment; if you don't think this is possible, go here for some general information:

http://en.wikipedia....ngful_execution

What planet do you live on my friend? Your impression of the legal system is juvenile; if you honestly think the system is blind or that variables such as location, race, jury selection, socioeconomic status, even issues like human memory and correct recollection of events, etc. etc. etc. do not play into how individual cases are handled, then unfortunately we cannot have this discussion. I am not sure if you truly think this way or if you are feigning ignorance.

 

Why don't you just lock this thread since it's obvious no one is mature enough to participate.

 

I did skim the first two links....

Your assumptions are hypothetical and are not provable. Yes, judges are humans and not computers, doesn't mean that they do or don't uphold the law for each case presented. Then again...that's what attorney's are for. That said, rich people can afford better representation.

Yeah, try applying your "wrongful execution" implication for the bulk of criminal trials...it's not going to fly and will be dismissed as "conspiracy theory."

Juries are selected from a demographically correct stance, so I'm not grasping your point here. Convictions are convictions...plain and simple.

 

I'm not assuming anything. Read a couple more of the links I posted. There are disparities in the justice system that can be explained by socioeconomic status, your ability to pay for an attorney (vs a public defender), the crime committed, race, and so on. In the Wiki link I provided, there was an instance where a man was executed, and afterwards, they discovered "a stack of evidence" that may have been used to exonerate him. If that doesn't make your skin itch, then like I said, we can't have this discussion.

In any case, if you believe the world is textbook-black and white, you have much to learn. I am not saying the mistakes made in some wrongful execution cases can be translated to petty crimes in local courts; what I am saying is that regardless of the crime, there have been documented instances where similar cases are handled differently due to a number of factors.

Just read more of the articles I posted, these are studies more thorough than this discussion will ever reach. I can link to more if you need.