Criminal sanctions and victimization work to form a system of disadvantage that perpetuates stratification and poverty.
Punishment impacts individuals convicted of felonies, as well as their families, peer groups, neighborhoods, and racial group.
After controlling for population differences, African Americans are incarcerated approximately seven times as often as Whites.
Variation in criminal punishment is linked to economic deprivation.
As the number of felons and former felons rises, collateral sanctions play an ever-larger role in racial and ethnic stratification, operating as an interconnected system of disadvantage.