The murder of my Aunt Nelcina Charles in her home in 1995 was a surprise to us. She tried making a turnaround in her life. After years of drug abuse, Nelcina reached her lowest point. She realized that she needed to make a turn for the better, for her children. Nelcina became more involved in her children's lives and started living a normal life. As the transition began to take hold for the better, Nelcina’s life was abruptly taken from her, the police came, did their regular procedure. Yet the murder remained unsolved, and her children stayed with their grandmother. Preceding the Manhattan Criminal Court engraved is the quote “Equal and exact justice for all men of whatever state or persuasion” which supposed to extend to my family. Unfortunately, indigent minority neighborhoods have a false view of the extent and meaning of Constitutional protections, so we were helpless. The quote rang hollow to me because it did not extend to us. A wide gap exists in ethnicity between the individuals in conflict with the court of law and the individuals chosen to represent them in the court of law. This highlights the connection between criminal justice and crime with economic inequality. My family could not afford a lawyer furthermore; the case resulted in a dismissal. Without proper representation the case faltered, evidence overlooked, suspects not interviewed, and the crime scene jeopardized. The need for individuals to understand their rights is important. Adequate education allows individuals to understand their rights, which is necessary for success and society must present such opportunity. My goal of becoming a social advocate is to contribute in the lives of my Brooklyn’s community. As well, as stem the growing tide of injustice and ... ... middle of paper ... ... education alone. The stark reality leaves much desired, success determined through unfavorable components, which my cousin never had, where you live, money, and education. Limits stop individuals from growth and career aspirations which contributed to my cousin becoming an at risk youth. Throughout my experiences, I learned that second chances could bring individuals thought lost back to the fold and be successful. My hope is that law school will contribute in my drive towards social activism. Law school will help me in my continued efforts for children’s success. Furthermore, my guidance, of course extends to people who face similar circumstances such as my cousin. Society stigmatized the indigent, cycles formed, and members of the family remains entrenched with their future remaining uncertain. I want to serve communities in overcoming the limits set by society.
“The New Jim Crow” is an article by Michelle Alexander, published by the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law. Michelle is a professor at the Ohio State Moritz college of criminal law as well as a civil rights advocate. Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law is part of the world’s top education system, is accredited by the American Bar Association, and is a long-time member of the American Law association. The goal of “The New Jim Crow” is to inform the public about the issues of race in our country, especially our legal system. The article is written in plain English, so the common person can fully understand it, but it also remains very professional. Throughout the article, Alexander provides factual information about racial issues in our country. She relates them back to the Jim Crow era and explains how the large social problem affects individual lives of people of color all over the country. By doing this, Alexander appeals to the reader’s ethos, logos, and pathos, forming a persuasive essay that shifts the understanding and opinions of all readers.
DQ1. Citizens tend to question his or her trust in the correction system. With the number of crimes committed increases, the cost of correction increases as well, allowing billions of dollars per year to be spent managing individuals who has been accused or convicted of a criminal offense, other than on funds for his or her education and other services that fall behind because of lack of money. Most criminals tend to be uneducated or have a history of prison or jail which may also involve his or her parents being incarcerated. The public develop concerns about his or her school and healthcare, when so much money is needed for correction. It makes many leery about investing his or her money when things are not as effective with the correction system as everything should be.
In modern-day America the issue of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system is controversial because there is substantial evidence confirming both individual and systemic biases. While there is reason to believe that there are discriminatory elements at every step of the judicial process, this treatment will investigate and attempt to elucidate such elements in two of the most critical judicial junctures, criminal apprehension and prosecution.
By carrying out various studies exhibiting the correlation between poverty and incarceration of African American men, the skyrocketing headcount poverty rate within the minority neighbourhoods shows that racial delineation in the US. Granting both the authors wish to call out the prejudiced judicial system, the language used by Kelly depicts indignation better than DeFina and Hannon. Her references to sensitive cases like Garner and Brown, brings out an outpouring of emotions and a cry for criminal justice system
We can conclude with her analyses that the criminal justice in America is biased an even though I don’t agree with the suggestion Alexander has heard from other people that mass incarceration is a “conspiracy to put blacks back in their place” (p.5). It is clear that the justice system in the US is not completely fair, and that collective action must arise to struggle it.
wards of the hospitals-- all this with her money! Kill her, take her money, dedicate
This research essay discusses racial disparities in the sentencing policies and process, which is one of the major factors contributing to the current overrepresentation of minorities in the judicial system, further threatening the African American and Latino communities. This is also evident from the fact that Blacks are almost 7 times more likely to be incarcerated than are Whites (Kartz, 2000). The argument presented in the essay is that how the laws that have been established for sentencing tend to target the people of color more and therefore their chances of ending up on prison are higher than the whites. The essay further goes on to talk about the judges and the prosecutors who due to different factors, tend to make their decisions
I set my goals high because I fully dedicate myself to achieving the goal at hand. It is with this same determination that I apply to law school, aspiring to advocate for those who do not have a voice. I hope to address specific injustices impacting vulnerable groups, such as (…I have to add something). I look forward to acquiring essential skills in law school that will effectively prepare me to make the changes I long to see a reality. Olivia showed me what determination and resilience looked like. Though I will never be able to repay Olivia, the lessons she taught me that have become an integral part to who I am today. Like Olivia, I am determined to make my dreams come true, with, of course, a smile on my face the whole
Sonya, throughout the story had a great affect on Raskolnikov’s changes. In the novel, Crime and Punishment by Fyoder Dostoevsky, this can be seen from all the things Sonya had done for Raskolnikov and what affect the cold person turned loving.
Crime and Punishment consists of many people who have committed distinct crimes, and all of them have served their punishments in one way or another. Raskolnikov was one of the main characters in the novel. Raskolnikov had committed the crime of a premeditated murder. Svidrigailov, on the other hand, did things because they made him feel good. Svidrigailov’s biggest crime was falling in love with Dunya. There are many ways a person can commit crime and there are many ways they can pay the punishment. Raskolnikov’s definition of crime was killing someone and defending himself by thinking that he had done nothing wrong. According to Svidrigailov, crime can be committed by doing something as harmless as falling in love. Some people can pay the punishment for the crime they committed by letting their inner conscience bite them, whereas, some people can make their own life miserable by wishing for something that just wasn’t meant to be.
The media is a dominating aspect of American culture. The way the media depicts crime and criminal behavior has an affect on the way society views crime and criminals. Television series such as CSI, NCIS, Law and Order, Criminal Minds and countless others, have become very popular in our society today showing that our culture has an immense interest in crime. It is clear that there is a fascination with criminals and why they do the things they do. To analyze the way crime dramas represent crime and criminal behavior, I completed a content analysis of one episode of Criminal Minds. The episode I chose was season one; episode eight, which first aired in 2005, titled ‘Natural Born Killer’.
Not only do we need to understand the ‘issue’ or ‘societal problem’ that many people face and are impacted by every day, but we need to meet and work alongside those whose daily realities are shaped by injustices, while not creating any divides or barriers in the process. Everyday people are affected by the issues that organizations fight for or against, and once we realize how people-centered things like advocacy, outreach and service are, I believe young people will realize their call to action and their potent...
Crime rates, especially violent crimes such as murder, rape, and robbery, peaked around 1991 and 1992, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reports. The major crime topics of that time included drug abuse and the war on drugs, still some remnants from the crack cocaine epidemic from the late 1980s, and the increase in juvenile violence in the late 1980s. In addition to these, legislation such as the Brady Bill continued to surface as a public policy that drew attention to the issue of gun violence, and other topics tended to be emphasized by the Bush administration, such as the exclusionary rule, the death penalty, habeas corpus, and the insanity defense. Community policing developed at the grassroots level in the early 1980s, coming out of local police demonstration projects that were often funded by the National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Community policing came about out of the rejection of traditional policing practices in the 1970s, largely as a result of various studies that found that long held assumptions in policing were found not to hold up to scrutiny. An article written by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling published in an edition of Atlantic Monthly in 1982 brought about the broken windows theory. This theory holds that when people no longer care about their community, the condition on that neighborhood often sends signals to people that no one cares. This allows for disorder and minor crimes to pass unnoticed, which will lead to more serious crimes. Once disorder begins to take hold and minor crimes become common, eventually the neighborhood will decay and become crime ridden. The key to fixing the broken windows is for police to target these minor crimes...
I will compare the changes in the homicide rate and arrest rates among groups of people born before and after the legalization of abortion. With this it should expose a factor in the 1900s which lead to the decrease of crime due to the legalization of abortion. Even though it appears that the legalized abortion was the factor for crime rate to drop it was only one of many factors presented in the evidence. Though I believe it is an important factor worthy of elaboration are careful analytic dissection. Most sources point to an unmeasured period of crack and cocaine use yet the trend still appears to be that abortion affected crimes due to the legalized abortion affecting families of lower class and minorities hence the reduction of them and the reduction of crime.
The acts of crime have existed long before laws have existed. But because crimes do and will occur, laws need to be established and enforced to protect the innocent from harm and/or wrongdoing by another. Laws have been and still are being made to help prevent crimes from happening and to stop existing crimes from occurring. These unlawful acts range in a variety of categories. These categories are then put into subgroups to help specify a more accurate concentration on this issue. Because crimes are better focused on in categorized groups, more helpful research has been established to better understand and lessen the risk of these crimes from occurring to others throughout their everyday lives.