In his analysis of differential treatment of blacks and whites by the criminal justice system, Crittenden cites two studies:
A 2014 study by the American Civil Liberties Union found that, at the federal level, African Americans and Latinos receive sentences that are 20 times longer than whites.
A 2015 study by the Sentencing Project found that judges are more likely to give individuals of color longer sentences than whites, even if they have less of a criminal record. It also found that juvenile probation officers, in many cases, view crimes committed by whites as momentary lapses of judgment, or the products of a poor environment. For African Americans, the cause of crime is viewed as being related to poor attitudes or personalities