Yes, we have a two-tiered justice system -- but not how you think

Does the fact that people in their twenties are far more frequently imprisoned than people in their sixties mean that ageism (that is, society’s putative bile towards young people) is the cause behind it?

Does the fact that men are far more frequently imprisoned than women mean that sexism (that is, society’s putative bile toward men) is the cause behind it?

Of course it’s so much baloney. The reason each of these groups — younger adults, men, and blacks — is in prison grossly in excess of their representation in the general population is behavior, not identity. As a statistical matter, each of those groups commits the kind of offenses that get you sent to prison, often offenses involving violence, much more frequently than the general population. As long as this is the case (but not for a minute thereafter), they should be in prison in disproportionate numbers. Prisons are not supposed to be “representative” places — meaning that the ubiquitous complaint about identity-group “disparity” ranges in persuasive punch somewhere between misconceived and preposterous.