Texas Prisons: Research Paper

Texas Prisons
Name
Institution
Texas Prisons
Discuss how the racial/ethnic makeup of the overall prison population and the death row population in Texas compares to the racial/ethnic breakdown of the general population in Texas. (Refer to “Who are Texans?” in Chapter 13.)
According to the chart in Chapter 13, the Prison Population in Texas in 2016, the total Texas population is 43% White, 13% African American, 39% Latino, and 6% of another racial origin. As compared to the total prison population, African American and Latino inmates make up a higher proportion than white inmates. The other racial ethnicity has the lowest percentage, at 0.1 per cent. In 2017, African Americans had the highest death rate, at 44 per cent, followed by Whites and Latinos, who each had a death rate of about 28 percent. Consequently, other racial origin has the lowest death rate that stands at an average of 6%.
What might explain the racial/ethnic makeup of the prison population in Texas?
The overall prison population of Latinos and African Americans is greater than that of whites. As an African American or a Latino, you have a 7 out of 10 chance of going to jail ( Champagne et al., 2019). A possible cause is that Latinos and African Americans are more likely than whites to be poor, causing them to commit felonies and drug abuse.
Which regions of the country have higher incarceration rates and death penalty usage?
(Refer to “Texas and the nation” in Chapter 13.)
According to Chapter 13, the South has the highest incarceration rate. The area is made up of three states: Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Louisiana has the highest prison rate, followed by Missouri and Oklahoma. Texas has the fifth-highest percentage of incarceration. Further, according to Chapter 13, the Midwest to Northeast is the highest death penalty rate. There are only three states in the region: Texas, which has the highest capital punishment rate, Oklahoma and Virginia. The second-largest area is located in the Southeast.
What do you think explains the differences in the regional patterns of incarceration and
death penalty usage?
Regional levels of imprisonment vary since each state has its own set of laws governing how things can get done. Changing the laws will also affect the crime rate. "If any community (Latinos, African Americans, etc.) is large, then the potential chance of its prison population is high,"( Chapter 13). Additionally, Just 31 states allow capital punishment, while ten states do not approve, and three of the ten states have outlawed capital punishment. Many states have modified their death penalty laws; they often refer to Texas; hence...