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Affluenza is the mitigating factor during the homicide trail of a wealthy teenager in Texas who happened to be a white person. The affluenza defense is obvious a double standard of the rich and poor and there is speculation if the defendant was a poor black teenager if they would have the same considerations of punishment from the judges. It is obvious that race and other demographic characteristics have to do with the beliefs and behaviors of Mr. Couch. If affluenza is a feeling of entitlement then his beliefs and behaviors are selfish. But that does not give the teenager a pass from right and wrong decisions based on his behaviors. Everyone must conform to the rules of culture regardless of family culture or the rules of the groups to which
A person’s socioeconomic status plays a major role in how a crime is investigated. Socioeconomic status is the social standing of an individual or group, which is calculated by the factors of income, education, and occupation. When it comes to the criminal justice system, your status determines whether you go to jail. Angela Davis, a law professor at American University in Washington, D.C., states that “most of the people in the criminal justice system are poor, regardless of race” in reference to how income and race reflect the outcome of criminal convictions. In the documentary, Making a Murderer, it appears Steven Avery was targeted by the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s department. Furthermore, the department only focuses on Avery and never
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
Many ideas of sociology go hand-in-hand. This is true when you apply the sociological science to the story of Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton. Racism is the dominant social issue that exists in their story. The underlying sociological concepts of discrimination, ascribed status, norms, accommodation, alienation, institutions, and closed systems are also present. The attack of Jennifer Thompson-Cannino was horrific and she had a right to justice. Still, considering the circumstances, one has to wonder if the judicial system was quick to jump to the conclusion of Ronald Cotton’s guilt based on his race
...ere taken in the initial discussions of getting tough on crime in the late 1960s and early 1970s: the conservative side which argued that “poverty was caused not by structural factors related to race and class but rather by culture – particularly black culture” and the liberal side which argued that “social reforms such as the War on Poverty and civil rights legislation would get at the root causes of criminal behavior and stressed the social conditions that predictably generate crime” (Alexander, 2012, p. 45). The liberals were definitely onto something. The process by which we address crime must account for the intersectionality of our country relative to crime. We must respond by shaping our legal framework around a system that is not racially biased, that takes care of the poor and that accounts for gender differences that largely separate males and females.
Being in America, a society encompassed by those of a wealthy nature versus those striving to obtain as much wealth as they can in their own limitations, it seems inevitable for one to pass judgment on those who choose the glamorous lifestyle over any morals they may have had prior to their riches. After reading Money and Class in America, it can be concluded that Mr. Lewis Lapham makes an intriguing point as he states that it is seemingly unintelligent to assume that one that is wealthy in pocket is also wealthy in intelligence. Everyday, greed filled Americans prove this judgment to be blatantly wrong, as they partake in the extravagant lifestyle without much thought in the immorality that comes with the lifestyle. Though some may say that
Many would argue that the reason why the incarceration rate for African Americans is sustainably higher compared to white American is because of economic situations, and because of past arrest patterns. While it is true that the economic opportunity someone has will affect their decisions, this argument doesn’t fully explain the real reason of why the rates are higher. To fully understand the reason why one must look back on America’s history and how African Americans were treated. The past arrest patterns do not explain why the gap continues to increase, however it is clear that the past arrest patterns is more an indicator of institutional racism that exists in this country. One study found that African Americans believe the reason for the high incarceration rates is becau...
Even though the American Revolution constituted represented a tremendous strike against the old social order, its founding ideals could not be realized within the socioeconomic framework that existed in colonial America.
What does it mean to live in a well lived life? Some may define it as where one’s living necessities are met. Others may put value on relationships between other sentient beings. How does such a multitude of social injustices and poor living conditions exist within a country that claims to promote equality for all people? A common expression is that America is a melting pot. In truth, America is a melting pot of discrimination and injustice. For example, African Americans, who are 13% of the population and 14% of drug users, are not only 37% of the people arrested for drugs but 56% of the people in state prisons for drug offenses. Institutional racism is a vital factor that permeates numerous injustices throughout our society. Institutional racism refers to specific policies and/or institutions which consistently result in unequal treatment for particular groups. I argue that institutional racism constitutes an injustice and through using Rawls theory, the veil of ignorance, institutional racism can be rectified.
Becoming an adult is signified differently in every culture, in America, reaching middle class status is one way that is used to indicate adulthood. To obtain middle class status one would need to acquire a job, become financially stable, get a house, and have a family. The “Mood Economy”, self-reliance, and distrust in institutions, as stated in Silva’s Coming Up Short, have reshaped what it means to become an adult. Replacing the traditional white picket fence ideals with new neoliberal ones. Although middle class status is still a goal for a lot of individuals, the number of people who reach middle class status has diminished significantly over the years. By examining the new milestones that mark adulthood and evaluating how the state reproduces little social mobility through “Attacking Solidarity” mentioned in Requiem for the American Dream, we can get a better idea of how the middle class disappeared before us.
The historical context of inequality in the United States can be can be traced back to the American South and the times of the Civil War. The slave trade, Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment largely contribute to the inequality presented of the African American population.
Middle class Americans represent more than half of the United States’ population. They are the backbone of U.S. economics, and have been since the very beginning of the country’s history. However, an unstable job market, created by outsourcing, combined with a minimum wage which has not been raised since 1989, is gradually shrinking this economic group. To avoid the extinction of this critical class, the next president of the United States will have to go to extraordinary measures. Without major reformation, the middle class will continue to be absorbed by the lower class, ultimately resulting in the complete loss of one of America’s most important socio-economic bodies.
Today’s world is faced with numerous social problems that pose enormous threats to humanity. Many of these problems threaten our very survival. Poverty is an issue that plagues all societies in every part of the world. Not even the most privileged countries can seemingly avoid it. It has a huge presence in the United States which is one of the wealthiest nations in the world.
My research topic explores the prevalence that economic privilege has on implications of crime. Privilege is a word used often in today's society, but to what extent do we truly understand how privilege is exercised in our justice system. My research topic explores the prevalence that economic privilege has on implications of crime. The economic status of many determines how fair they are treated and viewed by the legal system. People of a higher economic status, sometimes do not understand what it means to have the privilege of wealth on their side. Through the careful analysis of articles and books, I will provide sufficient evidence that points to the mistreatment of the underprivileged in the criminal justice system. The emergence of carelessness
I really like economics, it is an interesting combination of math, behavioral science, and logic, that can be used to make unique observations of the world as we know it. Unfortunately, like most academic disciplines it suffers from its faults. Even though these faults are not unique to economics, instead they are pervasive in many academic disciplines. Nor are the new, as they have been around more or less since the start of modern academics. Yet until they are fixed they need to be continually addressed, so that we can take in to account the inherent bias that comes with them. These faults can be expressed in one phrase “Rich White Men.” This phrase incorporates the three biggest failings in the field of economics. Which are, that most people in the field have a greater level of means than many of those that they choose to study, they are mostly of European Caucasian descent, and that they tend to be male. Qualities that introduce an inherent bias in to their world view. This is not to say that people in the field of economics are
In today 's society, there is 1 in 7 people living in poverty which is costing Canadian citizens’ money as they are paying for taxes. There are many standpoints in which people examine the ways poverty affect society such as Marx’s conflict theory. Marx’s conflict theory goes over how social stratification being inevitable and how there is a class consciousness within people in the working class. Another way that poverty is scrutinized is by feminization. Feminization is the theory that will be explored throughout this essay. Poverty will be analyzed in this essay to determine the significance of poverty on the society and the implications that are produced.