NCJ Number
75065
Journal
Journal of Black Studies Volume: 8 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1978) Pages: 321-335
Date Published
1978
Length
15 pages
Annotation
The dual problems of sex and race experienced by incarcerated black females are discussed, and the status of black female inmates in North Carolina prisons is reviewed.
Abstract
Because the American criminal justice system functions on a double standard, women have long been protected from incarceration in most cases. The women's liberation movement and the increases in social unrest of the 1960's led to increased levels of consciousness among women which may have been responsible for the increase in female criminality. The number of female offenders increased by 108 percent between 1960 and 1974. Most female offenders have been and continue to be poor blacks. Two recent cases reflect the treatment of black women offenders. Marie Hill was forced to sign a confession to a murder without benefit of legal counsel and is now serving a life term. Joann Little was tried for defending herself against sexual assault by a male prison guard and was successful in avoiding conviction only with a change of venue and the help of civil rights groups. An analysis of the North Carolina prison population showed that men were incarcerated more often for violent and personal crime, while women were incarcerated more often for victimless crimes. Over half of the male prisoners were black and over 66 percent of the females were black. All of the females were classified as falling into lower-order occupational levels, and 82 percent of the women and 78 percent of the men had not completed high school. The total State prison population was 97 percent male and 3 percent female. The separate but masculine system of judicial practice should be renovated as a first step in improving the treatment of females within the criminal justice system. Tabular data are included.