ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the extent of racial/ethnic inequality in the criminal justice system. It demonstrates that the various ways the death penalty is racialized. The chapter analyzes the linking of race and crime in the public consciousness. Racial inequality in the criminal justice field warrants the attention of sociological study. The perpetuation of the myths that link race and crime can have grave repercussions, as the opening vignette shows. When it comes to studying racial inequality in the criminal justice system, sociologists rely on three primary theoretical perspectives as the basis for their approach. Using theory as a starting point, they seek to better understand the relationship between race and crime as well as its cumulative effects. A critical race theorist critique of the criminal justice system, for instance, faults law enforcement strategies, such as imposing curfews on young people to curb gang activity, for perpetuating the image of minority youth as criminals.
