The Rich Get Richer examines the processes by which our prisons
and jails come to be predominately occupied by those from the lowest
social and economic classes. Having
argued in Ch 2 that the criminal law fails to prohibit many
serious harms done by the powerful, we now argue that the Criminal Justice System
'weeds out the wealthy' and functions in
such a way that the poor are 1.) more likely to be arrested 2.) more
likely to be charged 3.) more likely to be convicted and 4.) more likely
to be sentenced to longer prison sentences than members of middle and
upper classes.
The Rich Get Richer discusses the characteristics of inmates,
including education level, income and education level.In addition, we provide a comparison of average sentencing for
crimes of the poor and crimes of the affluent, demonstrating sentencing
disparities. Much of the data is based on racial disparities,
can be used as a proxy for social class because African Americans are
disproportionately poor. To be clear, "it is not our view
that the poor are all innocent victims persecuted by the evil
rich," but that "the poor are arrested and punished by the
criminal justice system much more frequently than their contribution to
the crime problem would warrant."
This section demonstrates that the weeding out of the
wealthy begins at the arrest.The
chapter cites government documents as well as numerous studies that address the
bias evident in official records and self-reports.While both blacks and whites admit to similar amounts and
types of crimes, it is the poor who are most likely to be arrested and
have a criminal record.One
argument is that at the very beginning of the road to prison, police
mainly investigate and arrest those who hold the least political clout or
who are least likely to draw attention to police practices - those in the
lowest social and economic classes.
Further, this chapter demonstrates that the kinds of crime
that poor people don’t have the opportunity to commit are the crimes
that the criminal justice system does not treat as criminal, but civil
offences, making the middle and upper classes less likely to be arrested,
charged or convicted.calculate the cost of white collar crime at $486 billion and
argue that white-collar crime 1.) is much more costly
than street crimes 2.) is widespread 3.) white-collar criminals areseldom arrested and charged 4.) when they are prosecuted and
convicted, sentences are light.
What's
your hypothetical criminal record? [Have you ever sat down and thought out
what your hypothetical criminal record would be if all the crimes you
committed in your life would have been reported to the police and prosecuted?]
The question of guilt or innocence
is significantly affected by a person’s ability to secure the funds
necessary to be free on bail and obtain legal counsel other than a public
defender. Both require access to
money, so it is not surprising that the poor are more likely to be
convicted.cite
studies that conclude that all other things being equal, unemployed
persons are 3 times more likely to be incarcerated before trial than those
who are employed and those who do not make bail are more likely to be
convicted. This chapter also points out the distinct advantages to the legal
services money can buy verses the disadvantages to court appointed legal
counsel, including - and especially - with death penalty cases.
This section discusses the point that the most severe
sentences are handed out to lower class defendants while the better class
of crook avoids prison or receives a lighter sentence.Several studies on racial disparity in sentencing are cited,
including how the death sentence is handed down more frequently in cases
involving white defendants than black ones. This chapter explores the impact of
'reforms' like mandatory minimums, sentencing guidelines and Three Strikes
that are often related to the drug war,
and have disproportionately impacted
minority communities.
We describe examples of
far-reaching white collar
crime like the Savings & Loan Scandal that cost the
public billions of dollars yet those executives convicted receive less
jail time than poor people convicted of common property crimes, such as
shop lifting. Major violations of trust and power, like those involved in
Watergate and corporate crime, are rarely the subject of 'get tough' laws
and are lightly punished.
Truth in
Justice: miscarriages of justice & wrongful convictions
In conclusion, there is a triple bias against the poor:
"Economic and class bias among harmful acts
as to which ones get labeled crimes and which are treated as regulatory
matters" (Ch 2)
"Economic bias among crimes" (this
chapter) - "the crimes that poor people are likely to commit carry
harsher sentences than the 'crimes in the suites' committed by well- to
do people"
"Among defendants convicted of the same
crimes the poor receive less probation and more years of confinement
than well- of defendants"
A Tale of Two
Criminals grew out of several invited lectures I gave, including a Distinguished Visiting Faculty Lecture at Eastern Kentucky University that they recently posted on YouTube. (6 parts, approx 60 minutes)
