Rights group blasts US justice over racial gap | Raw Story

Something just isn’t right with our Criminal Justice system…

No focus on rehabilitation or drug rehab- unless you are Lindsey Lohan.

A leading rights group slammed the United States on Monday for “overwhelming” racial disparities in its criminal justice system, and shortcomings in its approach to immigration and anti-terrorism measures.

Human Rights Watch said in its annual world report that in the US prison system — which still has the world’s largest population of 2,297,400 inmates, according to the latest figures from June 2009 — black non-Hispanic males are incarcerated at a rate more than six times that of white non-Hispanic males.

The disparity “cannot be accounted for solely by differences in criminal conduct,” said HRW in its 2011 World Report.

In 2009, one in 10 black males aged 25-29 were in prison, and for Hispanic males the figure was one in 25 — for white males the figure was one in 64.

HRW also highlighted a number of positive moves in the United States to address racial disparities, noting including a new law that promises to reduce in the sentencing of cocaine offenders.

 

“US citizens enjoy a broad range of civil liberties and have recourse to a strong system of independent federal and state courts, but continuing failures — notably in the criminal justice and immigration systems and in counterterrorism law and policy — mar its human rights record,” said HRW.

via Rights group blasts US justice over racial gap | Raw Story.