All this being said, the notion that a perfectly just incarceration system would mirror the racial diversity of the society as a whole is demonstrably false. Even setting drug laws aside, young black males commit a far higher percentage of crimes in this country than their percentage of the overall population. Even if our laws were completely color-blind and bias-free, the prison population would still be more minority-heavy than the surrounding society. This was a failing in Michelle Alexander’s book.
Of course, taking a wider view of justice, the reasons and causes behind this disparity in crime are not rooted in biology or genetics, but in the realms of poverty and broken families. Government policy can only go so far in ameliorating these factors. Cultural changes and better individual decision-making must go hand-in-hand with targeted government intervention and legal reform.
]]>If Yes, then yes, it is just. If No, then it is unjust.
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