The criminal justice system is riddled with racial disparities

These 5 graphs break down just how riddled the U.S. criminal justice system is with racial disparities.

by Alison Walsh, August 15, 2016

Race is a defining characteristic of the criminal justice system.

It is common knowledge that Blacks are disproportionately represented in prison. Looking at different types of incarceration sentences shows us how pervasive these disparities really are. This slideshow scrolls through the various incarceration sentences one may receive compared to the U.S. population, broken down by race.

Once a person is sentenced to jail, we see that Blacks are overrepresented and Whites are underrepresented, compared to the U.S. population as a whole. This disparity endures in state and federal prison sentences, life sentences, life without parole sentences, and in the death row population.

  • Our criminal justice system is defined by stark racial disparities
  • At every stage.
  • Graph comparing the racial composition of the U.S. with the racial composition of those in jail.
  • Graph comparing the racial composition of the U.S. with the racial composition of those in state and federal prison.
  • Graph comparing the racial composition of the U.S. with the racial composition of those sentenced to life in prison.
  • Graph comparing the racial composition of the U.S. with the racial composition of those sentenced to life without parole.
  • Graph comparing the racial composition of the U.S. with the racial composition of those on death row.

Compared to the U.S. population, Blacks are overrepresented in jails, state and federal prisons, life and life without parole sentences, and death penalty sentences. Conversely, Whites are underrepresented in those same categories.

  • Our criminal justice system is defined by stark racial disparities
  • At every stage.
  • Graph comparing the racial composition of the U.S. with the racial composition of those in jail.
  • Graph comparing the racial composition of the U.S. with the racial composition of those in state and federal prison.
  • Graph comparing the racial composition of the U.S. with the racial composition of those sentenced to life in prison.
  • Graph comparing the racial composition of the U.S. with the racial composition of those sentenced to life without parole.
  • Graph comparing the racial composition of the U.S. with the racial composition of those on death row.

Data sources:

The data:

White Black Hispanic
U.S. population 62.1% 13.2% 17.4%
Jail incarceration 47.4% 35.4% 14.9%
State & federal incarceration 33.6% 35.4% 21.6%
Life sentence 33.4% 48.3% 14.4%
Life without parole sentence 33.5% 56.4% 7.4%
Death row population 42.5% 41.7% 13.0%



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