The population of the United States is approximately 5% of the world’s population
The population of the United States is approximately 5% of the world’s population, it’s prison population however is 25%. According to the Population Reference Bureau, the United States currently has the largest incarceration rate in the world with the country ranking in 1st with a figure of 2,121,600 persons in the prison system. Tragically of those incarcerated approximately 40% of its population are African Americans. (Lawrence,2011, p.4) However in retrospect they make up only a mere 12% of the American population according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2018. With this information one might find the disparity questionable as to why the prison system is disproportionate. According to Lawrence for every 100,000 black males in the population, 4,777 are locked up. (p.4) This phenomenon for many is an undeniable fact and sadly for others just a harsh taste of reality that they are made to endure daily. In the United States racial disparities in the criminal justice system are against minorities and this triggers societal issues for African American men.
