The Color of Crime
 The Color of Crime provides an overview of race, crime, and law, beginning with a discussion of slavery. Russell-Brown writes that crime and young black men have become synonymous in the American mind, giving rise to the "criminalblackman" stereotype. The book popularised the term "racial hoax", which Russell-Brown defines as occurring when someone fabricates a crime and blames it on another person because of their race or when an actual crime has been committed and the perpetrator falsely blames someone because of their race. It gives the cases of Susan Smith, Jesse Anderson, and Charles Stuart as examples of racial hoaxes. She proposes six principles to achieve fairness in the criminal justice system: # Criminal penalties apply to everyone, regardless of the race of the offender. # Criminal penalties apply to everyone, regardless of the race of the victim. # The race of the offender is not relevant in determining whether his actions constitute a crime. The offender's actions would have been considered criminal, even if he were another race. # The race of the victim is not relevant in determining whether the offender's action constitutes a crime. # The offender's racial pedigree (e.g., "degree of Blackness") is not used to determine punishment. # There are checks and balances that mitigate against racial bias within the legal system.