"Two-Tiered Justice: Race, Class, and Crime Policy"

The title of this post is the title of this newly-published essay by Marc Mauer for The Sentencing Project. I learned of the essay from an e-mail that also contained this account of the work:

"Two-Tiered Justice: Race, Class, and Crime Policy" appears in a new volume, The Integration Debate, edited by Chester Hartman and Gregory Squires.  

[The] essay analyzes how the intersection of policy changes in criminal justice with the dynamics of a society that is still segregated in large part has produced a crisis of mass incarceration with profound effects for communities of color.  In the drug war and other areas, the "two-tiered" approach to public safety has emphasized treatment and public health strategies in communities with resources, while stressing punitive criminal justice initiatives in low-income neighborhoods.  These policies have set in motion a vicious cycle whereby the failure to invest in communities leads to higher rates of incarceration, which in turn contribute to declining economic prospects.