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Debate on racial imbalance within the justice system
Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System
Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System
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For much of the twentieth century, punishment and crime have portrayed some of the
most powerful signs of the racial divide in the United States. Marginalized and the poor remains
the most biased against in the criminal justice scheme (Barak, 2010). Throughout the America,
racial minorities were tried in white courtrooms by white juries. Class and race are challenging
issues in the court system. Studies show that most victims in the criminal justice system are poor
regardless of their race. Regardless of a facing of neutrality, class-based and race-based double
standards operate in virtually every criminal justice setting, including jury selection, police
behavior, and sentencing. Such disparities allow the privileged enjoy constitutional
The challenge of racial discrimination builds at every phase of the criminal justice field
from arrest through parole, rather than the result of the activities at any single phase. Addressing
the cause of these disparities from the grass root is very crucial.
Strategies are needed to tackle the challenge and to combat unjustified disparity, at every
phase of the criminal justice system, and to do so in a harmonized manner. Without a systematic
approach to the issue, gains in one range may be offset by the setback in another.
Every decision idea and constituent of the system requires exceptional approaches
depending on the level of discrimination and the particular population affected by the actions of
that component.
System-wide change is difficult without well-versed criminal justice leaders who are
enthusiastic and able to pledge their individual and agency resources to assessing and addressing
racial inequality at every phase of the system, and consequently, for the system as a
Just Mercy’s Bryan Stevenson exposes some of these disparities woven around his presentation of the Walter McMillian case, and the overrepresentation of African-American men in our criminal justice system. His accounts of actors in the criminal justice system such as Judge Robert E. Lee and the D.A. Tom Chapman who refused to open up the case or provide support regardless of the overwhelmingly amount of inconsistencies found in the case. The fact that there were instances where policemen paid people off to testify falsely against McMillian others on death row significantly supports this perpetuation of racism. For many of the people of color featured in Stevenson’s book, the justice system was unfair to them wrongfully or excessively punishing them for crimes both violent and nonviolent compared to their white counterparts. Racism towards those of color has caused a “lack of concern and responsiveness by police, prosecutors, and victims’ services providers” and ultimately leads to the mass incarceration of this population (Stevenson, 2014, p. 141). Moreover the lack of diversity within the jury system and those in power plays into the already existing racism. African-American men are quickly becoming disenfranchised in our country through such racist biases leading to over 1/3 of this population “missing” from the overall American population because they are within the criminal justice
The majority of our prison population is made up of African Americans of low social and economic classes, who come from low income houses and have low levels of education. The chapter also discusses the amount of money the United States loses yearly due to white collar crime as compared to the cost of violent crime. Another main point was the factors that make it more likely for a poor person to be incarcerated, such as the difficulty they would have in accessing adequate legal counsel and their inability to pay bail. This chapter addresses the inequality of sentencing in regards to race, it supplies us with NCVS data that shows less than one-fourth of assailants are perceived as black even though they are arrested at a much higher rate. In addition to African Americans being more likely to be charged with a crime, they are also more likely to receive harsher punishments for the same crimes- which can be seen in the crack/cocaine disparities. These harsher punishments are also shown in the higher rates of African Americans sentenced to
Racial disparity in the correctional population refers to the difference in the number of minorities versus whites represented inside institutions. “The American Correctional Association acknowledges that racial disparity exists within adult and juvenile detention and correctional systems. This contributes to the perception of unfairness and injustice in the justice system ("ACA Policies and," 2004).” “Blacks comprise 13% of the national population, but 30% of people arrested, 41% of people in jail, and 49% of those in prison. Nationwide, blacks are incarcerated at 8.2 times the rate of whites (Human Rights Watch, 2000).” This difference in proportionality does not necessarily involve direct discrimination; it can be explained by a number of combined factors.
“Most modem sentencing systems in the United States express an explicit commitment to ensuring that a defendant 's sentence is not affected by the defendant 's race or gender (Hessick, 2010).” Even though individuals are protected through the Bill of Rights and Sentencing Reform Acts, there are still disparities in sentencing within the criminal justice systems. Often, race and gender bias negatively affects sentencing.
All three types are prevalent throughout the criminal justice system and prevent justice for all. I recommend that in order to decrease disparity in all forms, we examine each case one by one and assign a sentence that fits each specifically. We need to make a clear set of guidelines across state lines, so everyone is on the same platform and treated equally. For gender disparity, we need to tackle the societal view of females in order to show that justice and the law sees no difference in man and women. For racial disparity, we need to train all law enforcement to acknowledge that there is no one race that is more guilty than the other. For age disparity, we need to examine each case on a case by case basis in order to better serve justice to each situation; then the court can decide if it should be tried in adult court or not. Overall, disparity is a major issue that is holding our criminal justice system back from its full potential; we can do better than
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.
The criminal justice system is united under one basic law body, in which no racism is present. Personal beliefs and anecdotes prove nothing, the criminal justice system isn’t racist. Although it may seem African Americans are highly discriminated upon in the justice system, there is ample amounts of data to prove otherwise. The criminal justice system is united under one basic law body, in which no racism is present. The system is not to blame for the racial differences found in the United States criminal justice system. The racial issues found in the system are due to inner city isolation and common crime patterns involving drugs even if it may seem as if the system is racist.
This essay will crucially consider whether there is inequalities within the criminal justice system between mothers and fathers, this will analyses a lot of statistics about males and females within prison with ratios of mothers in prison and that is compared to fathers, also compare between the crime and relations to the crime to show a clear cut understanding if there is or isn’t inequalities. The essay will discuss criminological theories linking in to how crime is seen in society the differences of each gender having committed the same crime the theories that will be used is, feminist theory which will focus on how mothers end up in prison and also how they are treated differently to fathers within the criminal justice system. The second theory will be the strain theory this will be about how strain and pressure can build up to a criminal act being carried out by females and the aftermath of being convicted, this will relate to how children become a victim between parents being incarcerated and the focus on the strain that goes through a mother compared to a father. Other approaches that link within the feminist and strain theory is oppression, social control and male domination, which will relate to how the construction of non-controllable actions would lead the pathway to prison for mothers and fathers and how these factors play a huge role.
From slavery to Jim Crow, the impact of racial discrimination has had a long lasting influence on the lives of African Americans. While inequality is by no means a new concept within the United States, the after effects have continued to have an unmatched impact on the racial disparities in society. Specifically, in the housing market, as residential segregation persists along racial and ethnic lines. Moreover, limiting the resources available to black communities such as homeownership, quality education, and wealth accumulation. Essentially leaving African Americans with an unequal access of resources and greatly affecting their ability to move upward in society due to being segregated in impoverished neighborhoods. Thus, residential segregation plays a significant role in
With a topic as frequently discussed as racial discrimination within our criminal justice system, there are many opinions and theories as to why our correctional facilities are populated with the type of inmates that are housed within. Fortunately, it has not been proven true that our criminal justice system is run in a racially discriminating manner, rather debated and analyzed in many lights. Discrimination is prohibited, as a matter of constitutional and statutory law, in a wide range of settings (Banks, Eberhardt & Ross, 2006). Who is it that teaches us who to be afraid of within society? Who are the “bad guys” that we should avoid? How many times do our parents tell us during our childhood to avoid certain people and places? Examples being a stranger with a van, neighborhoods to avoid late at night and other precautions that shape the way we think and believe as we grow of the dangers within our society. These same precautions that we are accustomed to during our childhood become embedded into our minds throughout adolescence and leading into adulthood. How do our parents determine who the “bad guys” are that we ought to avoid? If our own parents are raising us to distinguish between individuals, are they possibly raising us in a racially discriminating way? If that were the case, then who are we to criticize our criminal justice system for possibly doing the same?
We are not all treated equal where equality is required to assure the law is upheld. One of the flaws in our criminal justice system is how prejudice is often present in trials, and prevents suspects from having a fair trial. In “Serial”, a podcast about a first generation American teenager of Muslim religion named Adnan who was charged with the murder of his ex-girlfriend, prejudice is shown very strongly. At his bail hearing the prosecutor led the court to believe that Adnan 's extended support from his Muslim community would do anything they could to help Adnan escape the country and the justice system, ultimately getting away with murder. She furthered this claim with a report that there was a
I do not agree with King that racial and class privilege played a role in the sentencing of a person. This is a great criminal justice question, because we learn that judges do perform stereotypes on people. Though they do not mean to, it just a habit, because they really do not know the offender life story, they use past cases to sentence a person. Also, many young black offenders cannot afford a lawyer, so they use a public defender, who only speaks to the person for 3-5 minutes, because he is over worked. Just like the video’s some black people do not fully know their rights, either be of education or fear of the police, they take a plea bargain, even if they did not commit the acts. Plus, just like in Turner’s case, the judge saw himself in Turner’s shoes. Then looking at Judge Monte Wilkins, a black judge who presided over Cory Batey did not see himself in Batey’s shoes. Same could be stated about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Many black people dislike him, because he distanced himself from other black groups, because he is seemed as a Uncle Tom or betrayed his race, just as Judge Wilkins did to Batey given him a harsher sentence. See the problem I saw about these two cases, Judge Wilkins was fair and justice, as Judge Aaron Persky used his emotions to
Crime and criminalization are dependent on social inequality Social inequality there are four major forms of inequality, class gender race and age, all of which influence crime. In looking at social classes and relationship to crime, studies have shown that citizens of the lower class are more likely to commit crimes of property and violence than upper-class citizens: who generally commit political and economic crimes. In 2007 the National Crime Victimization Survey showed that families with an income of $15000 or less had a greater chance of being victimized; recalling that lower classes commit a majority of those crimes. We can conclude that crime generally happens within classes.
The central purpose of the criminal justice system is to deliver an efficient, effective and fair jus-tice process for the country.
The United States of America’s criminal justice system is defined as the system of law enforcement that is directly involved in apprehending, prosecuting, defending, sentencing, and punishing those who are suspected or convicted of a criminal offense. And while nothing is perfect, the goal of this system is to make sure every citizen is treated fairly and that justice is served. Over the years the United States has made a lot of changes to the way their law enforcement handles certain situations and offenses. These changes have come from learning experiences. For example the Miranda vs. Arizona case taught us that every person, guilty or not, needs to be read their rights before taken into custody because it is fair. A more modern topic that has constantly been changing the way our government and criminal justice system operates, is terrorism. Terrorism over the past two decades or so, has had a huge influence on the way our law enforcement goes about protecting us from threats. There have been new laws and acts created, new task forces