COURTS

...are extremely overcrowded. Judges rarely face the realities that they 'judge' each day, nor do they know the realities of the prisons they send people to. People without resources spend months & years just waiting for trial, and most never get any real defense. In order to speed through cases, the courts push defendants to "plea-bargain," where, if they waive their right to trial, they'll get a shorter sentence. This manipulation floods prisons with people who lack resources & don't know their rights; People of Color are 3 times as likely to get harsher sentences than Whites for the same crime.