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Is there racial bias in the Justice system
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“If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” a statement which was used by Johnnie Cochran. A quote from the People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson was one of America’s most famous cases that brought attention to the black community. This Era played a Logo in the impact, and after effects of this case. A case that brought attention to many American’s, immigrants, nationwide viewers and also, a case that is known to today’s society as the OJ Simpson case. This case raised concern and debate over the black community. Orenthal James Simpson was a wealthy black man that was a retired college and professional football hero, actor and he was also a commentator for Monday night live football. He was accused for the …show more content…
They were made up of multiple lawyers, friends and close acquaintances. They defended him and won the case against the People of the State of California. Johnnie Cochran one of the “Dream team” members played a major role in the outcome of this case. In an interview done on Barbara Walter’s television show the lead member, Robert Shapiro asserted that he hired Mr. Cochran because he was black. In the interview with Barbara Walters, when she asked if he hired Johnnie Cochran because he was black, he said yes. Miss Walter’s also asked if the race card played a part and he admitted it did. He said that they did not play the race card but they dealt …show more content…
Interviewed first was John Doe: Interviewer, Crystal E Thank you for your time and I would appreciate for the most five minutes. Thank you “What happened during the Oj Simpson trial in the black community”? John Doe: “On October 3rd, O.J Simpson was found not guilty”. Crystal E.: “Okay, How did it affect the black community”? John Doe: “There was mixed emotions especially amongst the black men, people were running the street celebrating that O.J was not convicted”. Crystal E: “What was the purpose of the celebration”? John Doe: “They had a good sense of the black community coming together, they had a sense of justice from slavery to Jim Crow Laws and then this”. Crystal E: “Please explain what do you mean, the black community coming together”? John Doe: “White people finally did not get their way. For once we received justice in an unjust society”. Crystal E.: “Can you please tell me why you feel that way”? John Doe: “They saw it as payback for the officers being acquitted from the Rodney King case”. Crystal E: “How did O.J Simpson help with the black community”? John Doe: “He did not reach out to the black people who supported him, he went back to his white
The killings of unarmed black men have increased tremendously with different races to blame for. In January 2011, the life of Justin Patterson was snatched from him and his family by Mr. Neesmith, who only served in prison for one year. How do you think the community of Toombs County and Justin's family feel about him only serving one year in a detention center? Many people protested that the racial issues behind his travesty caused an upstir in the world, including the murder of Trayvon Martin that just recently happened in Florida during that time. However, Justin Patterson's murder did not make national news or even in the papers because most people thought he was just another dead man.
In his book, Blood Done Sign My Name, the author Timothy Tyson tells the story of the highly combustible racial atmosphere in the American South before, during, and after the Jim Crow era. Unlike Margaret Mitchell’s account of the glory and grandeur of the Antebellum South, Tyson exposes the reader to the horrific and brutal reality that the black race experienced on a daily basis. Tyson highlights the double standard that existed during this period in history, arguing that the hypocrisy of the “white” southern judicial system allowed the murder of a young black African-American male at the hands of white racists to go unpunished (Tyson 2004, 244).
Currently in the United States of America, there is a wave a patriotism sweeping across this great land: a feeling of pride in being an American and in being able to call this nation home. The United States is the land of the free and the home of the brave; however, for the African-American citizens of the United States, from the inception of this country to midway through the twentieth century, there was no such thing as freedom, especially in the Deep South. Nowhere is that more evident than in Stories of Scottsboro, an account of the Scottsboro trials of 1931-1937, where nine African-American teenage boys were falsely accused of raping two white girls in Scottsboro, Alabama and no matter how much proof was brought forth proving there innocence, they were always guilty. This was a period of racism and bigotry in our country that is deeply and vividly portrayed though different points of view through author James E. Goodman.
Justice is among the most significant moral and political concepts. The word originates from the Latin jus, meaning “right or law”. All throughout history, injustice has been an issue each individual has experienced during his or her daily life. Even today we are still experiencing riots and protests from African-Americans in order to attain justice. In Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 by Anna Deavere Smith, readers see an example of injustice through the Rodney King case and the shooting of Latasha Harlins. Rodney-King and Latasha Harlins experienced racial injustice, which can be described as the denial of rights based on an individual’s race or racial background. Both two victims were mistreated for the color of their skin and were stripped
The court case of Plessy vs. Ferguson created nationwide controversy in the United States due to the fact that its outcome would ultimately affect every citizen of our country. On Tuesday, June 7th, 1892, Mr. Homer Plessy purchased a first class ticket on the East Louisiana Railroad for a trip from New Orleans to Covington. He then entered a passenger car and took a vacant seat in a coach where white passengers were also sitting. There was another coach assigned to people who weren’t of the white race, but this railroad was a common carrier and was not authorized to discriminate passengers based off of their race. (“Plessy vs. Ferguson, syllabus”).Mr. Plessy was a “Creole of Color”, a person who traces their heritage back to some of the Caribbean, French, and Spanish who settled into Louisiana before it was part of the US (“The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow”). Even though Plessy was only one eighth African American, and could pass for a full white man, still he was threatened to be penalized and ejected from the train if he did not vacate to the non-white coach (“Plessy vs. Ferguson, syllabus). In ...
In the end, justice was served where it was due, but not without the intense prejudice and discrimination that rocked a nation. Works Cited Dufresne, Marcel (October 1991). "Exposing the Secrets of Mississippi Racism". American Journalism Review. The.. Evers-Williams, Myrlie; Marable, Manning (2005).
...uls of Black Folk, the readers in the Twentieth-Century America can draw direct parallels to events, stories, and the morays of those in the past to today. The chapter "Of the Coming Of John" helps us interpret the present inequities in educational opportunities. There is also resentment for affirmative action that has been spoken by the dominant white male that reflects the court decision on affirmative action of modern time. The reader can contemplate the passage of Du Bois' essay to substitute the words "colored" and "Negro" with African-America, Nigger, illegal alien, Mexican, inner-city dwellers, and other meanings that articulate people that are not listed as a majority. Du Bois' essay is considered a classic because its' words can easily reflect to the modern day.
The New York Times bestseller book titled Reasonable Doubts: The Criminal Justice System and the O.J. Simpson Case examines the O.J. Simpson criminal trial of the mid-1990s. The author, Alan M. Dershowitz, relates the Simpson case to the broad functions and perspectives of the American criminal justice system as a whole. A Harvard law school teacher at the time and one of the most renowned legal minds in the country, Dershowitz served as one of O.J. Simpson’s twelve defense lawyers during the trial. Dershowitz utilizes the Simpson case to illustrate how today’s criminal justice system operates and relates it to the misperceptions of the public. Many outside spectators of the case firmly believed that Simpson committed the crimes for which he was charged for. Therefore, much of the public was simply dumbfounded when Simpson was acquitted. Dershowitz attempts to explain why the jury acquitted Simpson by examining the entire American criminal justice system as a whole.
During the Emmett Till trial, it shocked many white people in many parts and it became an international news story. White people come together again in order to continue fighting after a defeat to the defense of the men who had kidnapped and brutally murdered Emmett Till. Many people stood up who had never stood up before due to the irritation cases of Emmett Till.
This incident would have produced nothing more than another report for resisting arrest had a bystander, George Holliday, not videotaped the altercation. Holliday then released the footage to the media. LAPD Officers Lawrence Powell, Stacey Koon, Timothy Wind and Theodore Brisino were indicted and charged with assaulting King. Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg ordered a change of venue to suburban Simi Valley, which is a predominantly white suburb of Los Angeles. All officers were subsequently acquitted by a jury comprised of 10 whites, one Hispanic and one Asian, and the African American community responded in a manner far worse than the Watts Riots of 1965. ?While the King beating was tragic, it was just the trigger that released the rage of a community in economic strife and a police department in serious dec...
"The two races have lived here together. The Negro has been here in America since 1619, a total of 344 years. He is not going anywhere else; this country is his home. He wants to do his part to help make his city, state, and nation a better place for everyone, regardless of color and race. Let me appeal to the consciences of many silent, responsible citizens of the white community who know that a victory for democracy in Jackson will be a victory for democracy everywhere” (Medgar Evers in Jackson Mississippi, 2013). This excerpt is taken from a 17 minute speech by Medgar Evers on May 20, 1963, in response to the vocal criticisms of Mayor Allen Thompson’s view of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) as being ‘outside agitators’.
“The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, – this longing to attain self-consciousness, manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message f...
Now, as previously mentioned OJ Simpson was beloved. He was a revered hall of fame football player, actor, and sports announcer and was also well known as the Hertz rental car company spokesman. His name was essentially a household name. Because of his popularity, when the media caught wind of the issuance of an arrest ...
We remember Mrs. Lithebe's words, "For what else are we born?" and we see that there are some white men who do care. We also learn of James Jarvis's suffering and fear.
Fairchild, H. & Cowan, G (1997). Journal of Social Issues. The O.J. Simpson Trial: Challenges to Science and Society.