In the Hurwitz and Peffley reading, the findings conclude that whites are generally ignorant about the injustices in the CJS towards the black community. However, in To Kill A Mockingbird, the white community has total clarity about the injustices in the CJS, and considers the double standard to be fair. The shift in the white community to go from accepting an unfair justice system as a fair one to being ignorant about the injustices in the system has taken over a century to progress. However, the black community has remained consistent in its distrust in the CJS to provide them with fair trials and sentences. Why is the CJS intrinsically unfair to the black community? I argue that the main causes of this are the widening of the economic inequality gap between whites and blacks and the lack of opportunities presented to the black community for feasible secondary education. The Hurwitz and Peffley article focuses on …show more content…
I believe part of the distrust blacks have in the justice system derives from the lack of trust in local governments, most notably in low income neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods lack the funding to have a strong school system, public resources like libraries and park districts, and economic stimulation and job growth. Given this, it is not a far stretch to extend the distrust to the CJS, a mere subset of the government. Over ¼ of blacks today live below the poverty line, with many living just above it. Poverty greatly affects the outcome of a trial. Those who cannot afford their own representation do not always have an attorney who is motivated enough to work in their clients best interest. Poor people who are indicted do not have the resources to cover their own bail, or seek thorough counsel on the reality of their charges. While Tom had Atticus as his lawyer, many blacks are not as
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
Throughout history, there are many influential pieces of literature. They shape the way that human society as a whole view various matters, such as politics, religion, and justice. Still, one book stands apart in the volumes of history, and continues to impact generations of readers to this day. It is an endless source of discussion for scholars, and provides both historical and moral value to students of all ages. This famed work is none other than Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird; a timeless story detailing the childhood of tomboy Scout Finch and her adventures in Maycomb county. While the book is fictitious, this does not take away from the very real effects it has on readers. How does Harper Lee accomplish such
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is centered on the moral values and ideas of the people in Maycomb and how they react to things that go against their normal beliefs. All of the characters have their own senses of what is right or wrong, good or bad, etc. Aunt Alexandra's moral values are expressed throughout the book, especially in her feelings through her brother's case, but in public are confined to the indifferent and self-aware values of the county. While Aunt Alexandra has her set of displayed ideas and values shaped by the people in Maycomb, there are some hints to a hidden sense of justice in her throughout the story that gives her a sense of compassion for those discriminated in her world.
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, many things are repeated and emphasized. Harper Lee does this for a reason, she wants her reader to centralize their thoughts on certain themes. After reading and analyzing this novel, we discovered that the theme of “justice and injustice” was the most relevant theme. Many scenarios in this book, such as: death, the court system, racism, and the Finch children depicted this. Harper Lee uses this plot so her readers understand the difference between justice and injustice, and its consequences.
Throughout History, men have looked down on blacks and women. But this does not justify the view that blacks and women are below white men. When people look down on blacks and women, they preform injustice. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is full of injustice. During this time period, everyone looked down on blacks and women, which makes Maycomb one in the same with the discriminators. In particular, the people in Maycomb looked down on Tom Robinson, and many others looked down on Scout. Around the Finch household, Aunt Alexandria always tries to do away with Calpurnia, the black housekeeper and cook as Alexandria says, “We don’t need her (Calpurnia) now.” (182). Injustices in Maycomb include the case of Tom Robinson, the way Aunt Alexandra treats Calpurnia, and the way people treat Scout.
A possible reason as to why the book was called “To Kill a Mockingbird” is because a mockingbird is a harmless and innocent animal. Therefore, when it is killed, peace is disturbed. In the story, Tom Robinson, a black man, was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. Due to this, innocence and peace have been disturbed.
In a desperate attempt to save his client, Tom Robinson, from death, Atticus Finch boldly declares, “To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 271). The gross amounts of lurid racial inequality in the early 20th century South is unfathomable to the everyday modern person. African-Americans received absolutely no equality anywhere, especially not in American court rooms. After reading accounts of the trials of nine young men accused of raping two white women, novelist Harper Lee took up her pen and wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, a blistering exposition of tragic inequalities suffered by African Americans told from the point of view of a young girl. Though there are a few trivial differences between the events of the Scottsboro trials and the trial of Tom Robinson portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird, such as the accusers’ attitudes towards attention, the two cases share a superabundance of similarities. Among these are the preservation of idealist views regarding southern womanhood and excessive brutality utilized by police.
Racism has always been a controversial topic in history. All people face racism, no matter what race you are, and it’s an injustice. Racism is a major issue in today’s society, because … THESIS STATEMENT
Revisiting the issues brought up by Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird, it seems clear that majority of Americans do not live in a racist society as the one portrayed in Maycomb. After centuries of facing prolonged struggles of activism and change, open hatred and prejudice against Blacks has become unacceptable and often taboo in today’s society. Even though there may still be underlying tendencies of prejudice that could affect jurors decisions in present-day trials, the heavy cascade of anti-Black sentiment and overtly racial norms that had previously prevailed in America has greatly diminished. Black defendants by far have an improved opportunity of receiving a more fair and impartial verdict in the modern legal system than they did in the 1930’s.
In the novel, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee some characters suffer in the hands of justice and fairness more than others. Many characters in the novel are discriminated against such as Calpurnia, Dolphus Raymond, Helen Robinson, Burris Ewell and more. However I will be focusing on the discrimination against Tom Robinson for his race, Walter Cunningham for his low socioeconomic status and Boo Radley for the rumors and supposed mental instability he holds. I chose those three because they are the most prominent and I will discuss how the discrimination against the characters therefore leads to their injustice or unfairness.
Do to common knowledge most black and hispanic people are unable to afford their own lawyer. Which is why one in three black men will go to prison and one and six latino men. “So does the law protect us from racial discrimination or does hurt us for our race ? The undebatable and undeniable answer to the basic question of equal access to justice and fairness in the criminal justice system to all American citizens is a resounding "No." A simple dance through recent history depicts, in the most lucent fashion, an unfortunate and quite lengthy landscape of unequaled access to justice and abject unfairness in the criminal justice system as it applies to a substantial segment of the American population. However, there are many examples of justifiable equity in judicial discretion, or as some would call it, judicial balance. Our high court has, on occasion, actually reversed itself and halted a system of wrongdoing, e.g., Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v.Board of Education of Topeka (Durant III).” It is not a thought that it is a fact that race plays a major role in the courtroom from the prosecutor 's speech when on the stand to the jury 's decisions. In the movie Twelve Angry Men one of the jurors said we can 't trust them people saying the boy “isn 't like them because their white and the boy is latino”. It might not be said out loud but their are a lot of people serving the jury
“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest” Ellie Wiesel. Readers may find the amount of injustice in Harper lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird a little shocking. This could be why it’s such a popular book. People like the suspense of knowing someone’s right, but still being found guilty for something they did not do. There are many times throughout the book when people are powerless to prevent injustice but they still protest it. This shows that even when people unjustly punish there should always be someone to protest it. The theme of injustice is a common one in harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, whether it be through racism, misinformation, or Arrogance.
Injustices There have been many famous pieces of literature, but one that stands out is the 1960's classic To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee. Lee, who only wrote one book in her life time, wrote of prejudice, injustice, and racism in the 1930's. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the Deep South in the 1930's. To Kill a Mockingbird is a story in which a black mad is accused of doing something he didn't do. During the whole story some of the two of the main characters, Jem Finch and Jean Lousie Finch, grow up in there mind
Everyone just wants a fair chance and to be treated equally, but in "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee that isn't always the case. "To Kill a Mockingbird" is about a little girl named Scout, Growing up in the town of Maycomb in Maycomb county and the many ups and downs of being the town lawyers daughter. She's growing up and living in a town where people are treated differently based upon their status in the town and not based on who they are as people.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, colored people are treated unfairly. The setting of the book takes place in Alabama in the 1930s. Back then trying to win a trial as a colored person was nearly impossible. Nowadays colored people are treated more fair than Tom Robinson was. But what makes this topic relevant to American students now? The American justice system has changed a lot in the past eighty-seven years making Tom Robinson’s trial unfair.