No, the Criminal-Justice System Isn’t Racist
null By Jason L. RileyJan. 2, 2024 6:34 pm ETJournal Editorial Report: Best guesses of what's to come from Kim Strassel, Bill McGurn and Dan Henninger. Images: AP/AFP/Getty Images Composite: Mark KellyThe notion that the U.S. criminal-justice system is stacked against black people has gained currency since the death of George Floyd. It’s often cited as a basis for everything from ending cash bail and closing prisons to legalizing drugs, decriminalizing petty theft and offering reparations to the descendants of slaves. But is it supported by the evidence?Not according to a new academic paper by two Stetson University sociologists, Christopher Ferguson and Sven Smith. After analyzing 51 studies on sentencing disparities that were published between 2005 and 2022, they conclude that “overrepresentation among perpetrators of crime explains incarceration disparities to a greater degree than does racism in the criminal justice system.” In other words, blacks are incarcerated at higher rates
Jan. 2, 2024 6:34 pm ET
The notion that the U.S. criminal-justice system is stacked against black people has gained currency since the death of George Floyd. It’s often cited as a basis for everything from ending cash bail and closing prisons to legalizing drugs, decriminalizing petty theft and offering reparations to the descendants of slaves. But is it supported by the evidence?
Not according to a new academic paper by two Stetson University sociologists, Christopher Ferguson and Sven Smith. After analyzing 51 studies on sentencing disparities that were published between 2005 and 2022, they conclude that “overrepresentation among perpetrators of crime explains incarceration disparities to a greater degree than does racism in the criminal justice system.” In other words, blacks are incarcerated at higher rates than other groups because they commit crimes at higher rates, not due to systemic bias.
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About this article
Jason Riley is an opinion columnist at The Wall Street Journal, where his column, Upward Mobility, has run since 2016. He is also a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and provides television commentary for various news outlets.
Mr. Riley, a 2018 Bradley Prize recipient, is the author of four books: “Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders” (2008); “Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed” (2014); “False Black Power?” (2017); and “Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell” (2021).
Mr. Riley joined the paper in 1994 as a copy reader on the national news desk in New York. He moved to the editorial page in 1995, was named a senior editorial page writer in 2000, and became a member of the Editorial Board in 2005. He joined the Manhattan Institute in 2015.
Born in Buffalo, New York, Mr. Riley earned a bachelor's degree in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
He has also worked for USA Today and the Buffalo News.
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