The prison system exists as a form of formal punishment for people who commit illegal acts and serves as a safe place to protect the public from people who engage in illegal and/or violent behavior. Minorities make up the majority of the prison population. Due to possibly ingrained stereotypes regarding racial groups and drug-related crimes, there are large numbers of minorities in U.S. prisons (Tamborini, Huang, Mastro, & Nabashi-Nakahara, 2007, p. 342). Legal authorities and juries may show bias against minority groups, resulting in a disadvantage when it comes to charging those of the African-American race. African Americans are generally targeted more frequently than Caucasians for drug-related crimes. Due to the nature of the inexpensive forms of illegal substances used more frequently in urban centers, African Americans may be persecuted more easily and more often (Staples, 2011, p. 34). The opposition gives shape to the idea that minorities make up the majority of drug offenders. There are more African-American people accused of drug crimes, but this may be attributed to distorted perceptions of a particular race's tendency to engage in illegal behavior, as well as a lack of financial and socioeconomic status options for hiring an attorney . to defend their case, which negatively affects sentencing outcomes and statistics. As humans we hope to be revered as caring beings without external or possibly internal factors influencing our decisions, especially when it comes to someone's freedom. According to an article “The Influence of Race, Heuristics, and Information Load on Judgments of Guilt and Innocence,” by Tamorini, Huang, Mastro, and Nabashi-Nakahara (2007), when… middle of paper. .....several outcomes could present the image of a more fair and balanced justice system. References Bucolo, D. O., & Cohn, E. S. (2010, September). Playing the race card: Making race salient in the defense's opening and closing statements. Forensic and Criminal Psychology, 15(2), 293-303. http://dx.doi.org/10.1348/135532508X400824Conyers, Jr., J. (2013, Spring). The explosion of incarceration. Yale Law & Policy Review, 31(), 377-387. Retrieved from http://ylpr.yale.edu/Staples, R. (2011, ). White power, black crime, and racial politics. The black scholar, 41, 31-41. http://dx.doi.org/10.5816/blackscholar.41.4.0031Tamborini, R., Huang, R., Mastro, D., & Nabashi-Nakahara, R. (2007, December). The influence of race, heuristics, and information load on judgments of guilt and innocence. Communication Studies, 58(), 341-358. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10510970701648566