The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America [Paperback]

Samuel Walker (Author), Cassia Spohn (Author), Miriam Delone (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0534523625 | ISBN-13: 978-0534523626 | Publication Date: August 17, 1999 | Edition: 2

This comprehensive book examines the myriad of controversial racial issues that face all aspects of the criminal justice system (policing, courts, and corrections). Written at an approachable level yet covering complex issues in a thorough and thoughtful manner, this book is an impressive collection of the most contemporary research and policies regarding race issues. Uniquely unbiased in its presentation, the authors present difficult and controversial issues in a fair and even-handed manner so readers can draw their own conclusions. Every effort is made to incorporate all major race groups within the U.S., particularly those that are underrepresented in research.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Samuel Walker is Isaacson Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, where he has taught for over 30 years. He is the author of 13 books on policing, criminal justice history and policy, and civil liberties. His current research involves police accountability, focusing primarily on citizen oversight of the police and police Early Warning (EW) systems. Professor Walker currently serves on the Panel on Policing of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences.

Cassia Spohn is Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where she holds a Kayser Professorship. She is the author of HOW DO JUDGES DECIDE? THE SEARCH FOR FAIRNESS AND JUSTICE IN PUNISHMENT, which was published by Sage in 2002. She has also published extensively on prosecutors charging decisions in sexual assault cases, the effect of race, ethnicity, and gender on sentencing decisions, sentencing of drug offenders, and the deterrent effect of imprisonment. She is currently conducting a study of charging and sentencing decisions under the federal sentencing guidelines; this study, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, will provide a detailed analysis of policies, practices, and outcomes in three U.S. District Courts. In 1999 she was awarded the University of Nebraska Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award.

Miriam DeLone's research interests include political economy and social control; race, ethnicity, gender and sentencing; and corrections. Her teaching interests are in the area of minorities and crime; criminology; corrections; law and social control; nature of crime; and administration of justice. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Wadsworth Pub Co; 2 edition (August 17, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0534523625
• ISBN-13: 978-0534523626
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,207,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Samuel Walker is Isaacson Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, where he has taught for over 30 years. He is the author of 13 books on policing, criminal justice history and policy, and civil liberties. Current research involves police accountability, focusing primarily on citizen oversight of the police and police Early Warning (EW) systems. Professor Walker currently serves on the Panel on Policing of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Not well put together, January 25, 2012

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pwnbadness - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America (The Wadsworth Contemporary Issues in Crime and Justice Series) (Paperback)

The book has numerous math mistakes in it, charts giving statistics many times do not add to 100%. The book often seems to lump Hispanics/Latinos in with Whites when giving statistics, yet other times it gives them their own separate categories in other charts.

A few examples from the book.
Pg. 50 if you add up the crime rates it comes to 105%, and if you add the population it comes to 99%, so 99% of the U.S. population experiences 105% of the crime.
Pg. 77 when talking about hate crimes, if you add up those percentages, they come to 115%.

This info is just from the first 2 chapters.

3.0 out of 5 stars Respected and well-known author, but nothing new here, January 18, 2012

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Stephanie Dee (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America (Paperback)

Dr. Walker is a well respected professor of Criminology, but unfortunately I did not find this book engaging in the least. However, this could simply be because the issues it examines are media-worn.

9 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Careful, unbiased review of the evidence, July 12, 2005

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Real People - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America (Paperback)

There is nothing casual about this book's consideration of racial bias in the criminal justice system. The authors offer a very careful, balanced and thorough evaluation of racial bias in the various stages of the arrest, sentencing, incarceration, etc. based on a comprehensive consideration of the evidence from numerous studies. What is so striking about this study is that the authors are able to describe this evidence in a very understandable way that should be accessible to the general public. They find that while some areas of the criminal justice system are racial discriminatory, others are not. An excellent book!