Deck 11: Racism and the Criminal Justice System

Question 1

Convict leasing was a system of both _________ and ________.

A) slavery; greed
B) capitalism; racism
C) forced labor, social control
D) the government; local businesses

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which is true of the crime rate in the U.S.?

A) It is higher than that of other countries.
B) It is not higher than that of other countries.
C) It is the same as other countries.
D) It is higher than other countries historically.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Felons face discrimination in all of the following but:

A) public education.
B) housing.
C) employment.
D) social services.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Many scholars attribute the start of mass incarceration to the:

A) Community Oriented Policing Services.
B) Federal Death Penalty Act.
C) Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act.
D) Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act.

Question 5

Today, the American criminal justice system holds almost __________ people.

A) 1.2 million
B) 1.8 million
C) 2.3 million
D) 3.6 million

Question 6

By the end of 2016, almost ____________ people were under correctional supervision in the United States.

A) 7 million
B) 6 million
C) 5 million
D) 4 million

Question 7

In 2017, the rate of U.S. residents were incarcerated, a rate nearly _____ times that of western Europe's average rate.

A) 10
B) 9
C) 8
D) 7

Question 8

According to the 2020 World Prison Brief, the next largest incarcerated population in the world after the U.S. is:

A) Brazil.
B) China.
C) Russia.
D) South Africa.

Question 9

According to the 2020 World Prison Brief, Iceland had only ______ people behind bars:

A) 9,771
B) 8,392
C) 5,604
D) 131

Question 10

No other country in the world incarcerates more than half a million people. What accounts for so much of this disparity in the United States?

A) War on Poverty
B) War on Terror
C) War on Drugs
D) War on Crime

Question 11

Although 13% of the population of the United States is Black, Black people make up _______ of those imprisoned.

A) 20%
B) 30%
C) 40%
D) 50%

Question 12

Which political activist and scholar said, "Mass incarceration is not a solution to unemployment, nor is it a solution to the vast array of social problems that are hidden away in a rapidly growing network of prison and jails."

A) Michelle Alexander
B) Frankie Boyle
C) Bryan Stevenson
D) Angela Davis

Question 13

What is the term often used to describe relying on increased policing, prosecution, and imprisonment as the primary solution to gender-based violence?

A) carceral feminism
B) violence against women
C) law abiding suffrage
D) incarcerated womanism

Question 14

When a community process that addresses not only the needs of the person who was harmed, but also the conditions that enabled this harm is called:

A) community policing.
B) progressive policing.
C) transformative justice.
D) justice reform.

Question 15

What are two reasons African Americans are punished the most when it comes to drug laws?

A) stereotypes and weak political power
B) drug dealers and addiction
C) crack and poverty
D) poverty and gangs

Question 16

Who started the #SayHerName movement?

A) SisterSong
B) NAACP
C) Black Lives Matter
D) African American Policy Forum

Question 17

The use of race or ethnicity as grounds for suspicion is known as:

A) overt racism.
B) racial bias.
C) racial profiling.
D) over policing.

Question 18

After analyzing 55 million stops and 1.9 million searches, researchers found that a Black driver is _____ more likely to be searched by police than a White driver.

A) 9 times
B) 8 times
C) 7 times
D) 6 times

Question 19

Which of the following is true of sentencing disparities?

A) Blacks and Latinos are more likely to be sentenced to longer prison terms than Whites, even after taking into account the severity of the charges.
B) Whites are more likely than Blacks to get no prison time when that option is available.
C) Although more Whites are convicted of drug felonies than Blacks, more Blacks are admitted to prison.
D) All of the above.

Question 20

Which of the following is NOT true of racial disparities in the death penalty?

A) A study conducted in California found that people accused of killing Whites are over three times more likely to be sentenced than those who kill African Americans.
B) Between 1967 and 2002, only 12 people were executed for crimes in which the defendant was White, and the victim was Black, compared with the 178 Black defendants who were executed after having been convicted of killing a White person.
C) Between 1976 and 2017, more than 1,400 people were executed in the United States and 68% of them were African American.
D) Between 1976 and 2017, more than 155 people were released from death row in that period after being found innocent.

Question 21

W. E. B. Du Bois likened the prison system to "slavery in private hands." What did he mean?

Question 22

Which political party has been the most responsible for the surge in incarceration rates?

Question 23

Much of the racial disparity in mass incarceration has to do with imprisonment for drug crimes. Why is this problematic?

Question 24

What do the statistics say about White youth who use drugs?

Question 25

What does "driving while Black" mean?

Question 26

What do we learn from New York City's "stop and frisk" law?

Question 27

What is the story of Troy Davis?

Question 28

Who is the Corrections Corporations of America (CCA)?

Question 29

In the United States, it is illegal to discriminate against people because of their race, color, or national origin. But Black men are routinely discriminated against because of what kind of discrimination is allowed?

Question 30

At the federal level, three major laws were passed that marked the new era in criminal justice. What were they?

Question 31

Mass incarceration has affected women in three distinct ways from men. What are they?

Question 32

What is the story of Sandra Bland?

Question 33

Please describe the "Willie Horton" ad and its effect on George H.W. Bush's election.

Question 34

What is the impact of mass incarceration on families and children?