We get a new class this semester in addition to the same ones from last semester: criminal law. I’m already convinced that the subject matter will prove interesting, and at least we will be dealing with some terms that anyone who watches television knows – like “beyond a reasonable doubt,” “double jeopardy,” and “presumed innocent.”
I look forward to later this morning when I will meet our course instructor, Professor Samuel Levine.
In reading the introductory material, I discovered some eye-popping statistics. From 1925 to 1972, the American prison population was fairly stable, about 110 citizens incarcerated out of every 100,000. Since 1972, however, the population has skyrocketed – in 2005, the number stood at 738 per 100,000. Further, men are ten times more likely to be in prison than women, black persons five times more likely than white persons, and put together this one boggles the mind – one out of every three black males in this country is incarcerated.
There is a racist answer to that disparity that I am unfortunately well-versed in, but I don’t buy it in the least. I anticipate some interesting class discussions over the course of the next few months.
Minutes to Memories 