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Distributive justice is concerned with the fair allocation of resources among
diverse members of a community. Fair allocation typically takes into account the
total amount of goods to be distributed, the distributing procedure, and the
pattern of distribution that results
(http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/distributive-justice). Bryan Stevenson’s
theory states that the opposite of poverty is justice. This is true in our society
today because we are not functioning based upon a distributive justice, we are
functioning on a justice system that is most closely resembling a discriminative
justice system. Resources are not fairly allocated throughout society creating a
justice system that goes against distributive justice.
Gender, Race, and Sentencing
Kathleen Daly and Michael Tonry
Crime and Justice
Vol. 22, (1997) , pp. 201-252
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1147574
In Gender, Race, and Sentencing, it discusses the issue of racial discrimination in
the US Criminal Justice System. “…blacks and women occupy subordinate social and
economic positions in American life, and their interests are less likely to be represented
in the justice system than are those of white men.” Black men are more likely to be
arrested and put in to jail than white men, where on the other hand, women are less likely
to be arrested and put into jail. This goes against the theory of distributive justice. In
theory all should receive the same benefits and punishments based upon their actions, but
this article discusses the issue that our Justice System is bases based upon race, religion
and social status.
Race Relations and the Prisoner Subculture
James B. Jacobs
Crime and Justice, Vol. 1, (1979), pp. 1-27
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1147447
This article talks about racism and discrimination within prisons. “The oversight is
significant; prisons have a long history of segregation and racial discrimination.” This
proves that racism is sill present not only in the court room but in the jails as well. Also,
“Present-day prisoner subcultures are characterized by racial polarization and conflict,
and by the dominance of blacks and other minorities who now constitute the majority of
the national prisoner population.” Due to the racism and stereotypes of blacks they
dominate in not only sheer numbers but also status within prison. This was made possible
because of the unjust judicial system that puts more colored men into jail due to
stereotypes.
Interpreting Race and Crime Statistics
Monica A. Walker
Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series A (General), Vol. 150, No. 1 (1987), pp.
39-56
Published by: Wiley for the Royal Statistical Society
Article DOI: 10.2307/2981664
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2981664
This article discusses the “differences” between white and black populations, “such
as age, employment and social deprivation”. This article discusses the race, gender and
background of a perpetrator. They found that it was hard to come to a definite conclusion
s to see if the arrest was due to race of the offense. The charts show that more white
people were arrested but the percentage of whites that were arrested was smaller than the
percentage of black out of their entire race that were arrested. This article also talks about
the statistics of arrests and the interpretation of them. According to this article, “…black
people (do not necessarily) commit more offenses than white people. It is possible that
the two groups have the same offense rates but that an offense by a black person is more
likely to lead to an arrest than a similar one by a white person.”Even though the article
says that this it is hared to determine if race was really a motivating factor, it still shows
that poverty is the opposite of justice. It helps demonstrate that the justice system is not
fair or distributive.
RACE, CLASS AND POWERLESSNESS IN WORLD ECONOMY
Bernard D. Headley
The Black Scholar, Vol. 21, No. 3, BLACK SOCIAL ISSUES (Summer 1990-Summer
1991), pp. 14-21
Published by: Paradigm Publishers
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41067695
This article talks about the economic and socioeconomic status that African
American citizens have. “…one in three African Americans live below the official
poverty line.” In a distributive justice system, everyone is supposed to to receive all the
same resources and treatment no matter race, or gender. This is proof that even though
we are making strides towards distributive justice, the theory poverty is the opposite of
justice is still a relevant claim.
Prison "Race Riots": An Easy Case for Segregation?
Sarah Spiegel
California Law Review, Vol. 95, No. 6 (Dec., 2007), pp. 2261-2293
Published by: California Law Review, Inc.
Article DOI: 10.2307/20439144
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20439144
This article is about prison lockdowns in California and how they are targeting race
during these lockdowns. “Similar race based lockdowns targeting black and latino
prisoners occur with disturbing frequency in California prisons.” “…prison racial
segregation has slipped under the radar in equal jurisprudence.” This shows that not only
can the courts take racial stances, once prisoners are in prison the can receive racial
discrimination as well. In a distributive justice system prisoners would all receive the
same treatment, but the reality is they don’t. This once again shows that we do not
operate under a truly distributive justice system.
Race and Imprisonment Decisions
John Kramer and Darrell Steffensmeir
The Sociological Quarterly, Vol. 34, No. 2 (May, 1993), pp. 357-376
Published by: Wiley on behalf of the Midwest Sociological Society
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4120706
This article describes, using data, how Pennsylvania’s judicial system does in fact
use race a determinant of sentencing. “The data-analyzed with both additive and
interaction models-reveal that race (net of other factors) has a small effect on judicial
decision-making as it pertains to the likelihood of incarceration but has negligible effect
on the length of imprisonment decision. The small race effect at the in/out decision is
accounted for by dispositional departures in sentencing that favor white defendants.” This
proves the teary that race does still effect decision making of the judicial system. This
also proves that we, as the United States, are not using a distributive justice system and
that Bryan Stevenson’s theory that states the opposite of poverty is justice is in fact true.
Race, Gender, and the Prison Industrial Complex: California and Beyond
Angela Y. Davis and Cassandra Shaylor
Meridians, Vol. 2, No. 1 (2001), pp. 1-25
Published by: Indiana University Press
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40338793
This article is about the fact that race and gender are a factor in the judicial system.
Gender and race have an effect on sentencing within the judicial system. “..black women
are imprisoned at rates that are twice as high as their male counterparts and three times
the rate of white women.” This is another example of the theory that poverty is the
opposite of justice. Women tend to be poorer than men and black women tend to be svn
poor than white women. This again proves the fact that distributive justice is not in effect
today.
Courts, Sentences, and Prisons
Cassia C. Spohn
Daedalus, Vol. 124, No. 1, An American Dilemma Revisited (Winter, 1995), pp. 119-143
Published by: The MIT Press on behalf of American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20027286
This article is about the inequalities that existed within our justice system.
“African Americans continue to suffer direct and indirect discrimination in designs
regarding bail, charging, jury selection, and sentencing.” It also states that this
discrimination was more prevalent in the southern states with a more racist past. This
again goes against distributive justice but this article, predicted the beginnings of change
within our judicial system. It discusses little changes that eventually lead towards a more
distributive justice system. “He noted that the US Supreme Court and lower federal
courts were increasingly willing to censor state courts for violating the rights of criminal
defendants and that it is easier for African Americans to obtain the services of
complementary attorneys.” Even though this article was written in the era of Civil Rights,
it shows how far our judicial system has com in order to be a more distributive justice.
We are still not fully a distributive justice system but it shows that we are working to
become one.