Racial Bias in Sentencing: What the Numbers Show

The numbers show deep racial gaps in American prisons. The Sentencing Project's "Color of Justice" report found that Black Americans were held in state prisons at more than five times the rate of white Americans. Researchers point to three main causes: laws that fall harder on some groups, hidden bias in decisions, and unequal conditions in communities of color.

Update (October 2026): The Sentencing Project updated this report in October 2021. It found that Black Americans are imprisoned in state prisons at nearly 5 times the rate of white Americans, and Latinx people at 1.3 times the rate. In seven states, the Black/white gap was more than 9 to 1 (2021 report). The figures below are from the 2016 edition.

Why justice is not always blind

The words "Equal Justice Under Law" are carved on the front of the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice should be blind, and we should strive to live up to those words. But time and again, the numbers show that our justice system falls short, especially for people of color.

Bias can be open or hidden. Hidden bias, also called implicit bias, means attitudes people hold without realizing it. As Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the Supreme Court in Williams v. Pennsylvania (2016), "Bias is easy to attribute to others and difficult to discern in oneself."

President Obama made a similar point in his 2016 commencement speech at Howard University: "And we knew . . . that even the good cops with the best of intentions – including, by the way, African-American police officers – might have unconscious biases, as we all do."

The original version of this article cited these national numbers:

• One in every 10 Black men in his 30s is in prison or jail on any given day.
• More than 60% of people in prison in the U.S. are people of color.
• Hispanic men are almost twice as likely as white men to be incarcerated.

In the author's view, these numbers suggest that bias against minorities still plays a big role in sentencing today.

The Color of Justice report

In 2016, The Sentencing Project, a nonprofit that studies the justice system, released "The Color of Justice: Racial and Ethnic Disparity in State Prisons." It focused on state prisons, where most people in prison are held; more than 1.3 million people were held in state prisons at the time. The author read the report as confirming what many already believed: our justice system is not fully blind, and it disfavors people of color.

America remains a world leader in locking up its own people. Just as the first step to solving any problem is admitting it exists, real reform will not happen without facing the racial and ethnic gaps in our prisons.

Key findings from the 2016 report:

• Black Americans were imprisoned at 5.1 times the rate of white Americans. In five states (Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, Vermont, and Wisconsin), the gap was more than 10 to 1.
• In twelve states, more than half the prison population was Black. Maryland was highest, at 72%.
• In eleven states, at least 1 in 20 Black men was in prison.
• The gap varied widely by state, from 12.2 to 1 in New Jersey to 2.4 to 1 in Hawaii.
• Latinos were imprisoned at 1.4 times the rate of white Americans. The gap was highest in Massachusetts (4.3 to 1) and Connecticut (3.9 to 1).

What drives sentencing bias?

The data show a deep racial gap in prisons across the country. Even though the public and some policymakers understand the problems with mass incarceration, the gaps persist. Studies by criminologists often point to three causes.

1. Laws and policies that fall harder on some groups. A well-known federal example is crack cocaine. For years, crack carried far harsher sentences than powder cocaine, and most people sentenced for crack were Black, even though Black and white Americans use cocaine at similar rates. The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 reduced the gap from 100-to-1 to 18-to-1, but did not end it. The First Step Act of 2018 let many people convicted of a crack offense committed before August 3, 2010, ask for a reduction (Pub. L. 115-391, § 404).

2. Hidden bias in decisions. Studies suggest judges, like everyone else, can hold implicit racial biases. The original version of this article said recent studies found that federal and state judges have implicit racial biases equal to or greater than those of the general public. Research on presentence reports has found that people of color are sometimes described as more dangerous, which can lead to harsher sentences. Higher prison rates can then feed public stereotypes, and the cycle continues.

3. Disadvantages in communities of color. Higher poverty, fewer jobs, and less stable housing in some communities raise the risk of contact with the justice system. The original version of this article cited figures that about 62% of African Americans lived in highly segregated inner-city neighborhoods with high rates of violent crime, while most white Americans lived in "highly advantaged" neighborhoods with less violent crime. Many people of color start life on an uneven playing field, and those inequalities can carry forward into choices about whether to commit crime.

What could help

These problems are not easy to overcome, but there are places to start. Suggested reforms include easing drug penalties, ending mandatory minimums, shortening very long sentences, and training police, prosecutors, and judges about bias.

In the meantime, people in prison now need good representation to use whatever laws or release programs are available. If a family member was sentenced for a crack offense committed before August 3, 2010, for example, ask whether a First Step Act reduction has already been sought. Have the judgment and the docket number on hand when you call.

Additional Resources

The Sentencing Project: The Color of Justice (2016)

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