A Brief Note On The American Criminal Justice System Essay

The following piece of work will discuss racism within the criminal justice system by viewing the Black Lives Matter movement, the roles of law enforcement and how that effects citizens, and potential solutions to the problems in the system. Within our criminal justice system, it is evident that there is a problem by the ratio of blacks in prison, and the number of police brutality cases in the country.

Racial inequality is growing. Our criminal laws, while facially neutral, are enforced in a manner that is massively and pervasively biased. My research will examine the U.S. criminal justice policies and how it has the most adverse effect on minorities. According to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, out of a total population of 1,976,019 incarcerated in adult facilities, 1,239,946 or 63 percent are

There are large racial disparities in incarceration and related detainments for African Americans. They are more likely to be under the supervision of the Department of Corrections than any other racial or ethnic group (H.West, Sabol, & Greenman, 2010). Institutional racism is believed to be the reason why African Americans, especially males, are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. On balance, the public believes that discrimination against black people is based on the prejudice of the individual person, correlates to the discrimination built into the nation’s laws and institutions (Pew’s Research Center, 2017). This belief is actually supported through several experimental studies that provide evidence that African Americans are to be seen as more criminal and threatening than others thus more likely to be arrested or even shot (Greenwald, Oakes, & Hoffman, 2003). Racism within the criminal justice system very much exists and is still relevant.

In today’s society, discrimination continues to affect millions of minorities from inappropriate name calling to being shot by a law enforcement officer because you were perceived to be dangerous. The underlying effects of racial discrimination are seen in all aspects of our society, especially in our social institutions. These social institutions range from the educational system to our government, yet racial discrimination is more evident in the criminal justice system. When analyzing how the criminal justice system discriminates against minorities we are able to do so through the visible disparities within the system. Unfortunately, these disparities display African Americans having the highest population rates in the criminal justice system, therefore, we can immediately conclude this disparity in population is due to the injustices conducted by the system. Thus, there is a need for urgent change not just within the criminal justice system but within all social institutions beginning with our government. This change should create greater opportunities for minorities to enter the political field in our government as well as promoting higher participating in voting. Yet, the criminal justice system within all its aspects practices discrimination due to its deeply interwoven prejudice, institutional racism, and socioeconomic status.

The existence of racial disparity and structural inequality within the criminal justice system renders the concept of true justice for all unobtainable. The statistics of convictions and prison sentences by race definitely support the concept that discrimination is a problem in the justice system as well as the insignificantly number of minority judges and lawyers. There are a multitude of circumstances that influence these statistics according to the “Central Eight” criminogenic risk factors. The need for programs and methods to effectively deter those at risk individuals has never been greater and the lack of such programs is costing society in countless ways.

Few in this country would argue with the fact that the United States criminal justice system possesses discrepancies which adversely affect Blacks in this country. Numerous studies and articles have been composed on the many facets in which discrimination, or at least disparity, is obvious. Even whites are forced to admit that statistics indicate that the Black community is disproportionately affected by the American legal system. Controversy arises when the issue of possible causes of, and also solutions to, these variations are discussed. It’s not just black versus white, it is white versus white, and white versus oriental, whatever the case may be, and it is not justice. If we see patterns then the judges should have the authority to say something. Jury nullifications cannot be overturned regardless of the cause. Exclusionary rule, according to CULS (2010) – Prevents the government from using most evidence gathered in violation of U.S. Constitution; like unreasonable search and seizure (Fourth Amendment).

At the prosecution stage, African Americans are subject to racially biased charges and plea agreements (TLC, 2011). African Americans are less likely to have their charges dismissed or reduced or to receive any kind of alternate sentencing than their white counterparts (TLC, 2011). In the last stage, the finding of guilt and sentencing, the decisions of jurors may be affected by race (Toth et al, 2008) African Americans receive racially discriminatory sentences from judges (TLC, 2011). A New York study from 1990 to 1992 revealed one-third of minorities would have receive a lesser sentence if they were treated the same as white and there would have been a 5 percent decrease in African Americans sent to prison during that time period if they had received the same probation privileges (TLC, 2011). African Americans receive death sentences more than whites who have committed similar crimes (Toth et al, 2008). Because of the unfair treatment from the beginning to the end of the justice system there is an over represented amount of African Americans in prison (Toth et al, 2008). Some of the problems faced by African Americans in prison are gangs, racial preferences given to whites, and unfair treatment by prison guards (Toth et al, 2008).

“The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its black population than South Africa did at the height of apartheid. In Washington, D.C., our nation’s capitol, it is estimated that three out of four young black men (and nearly all those in the poorest neighborhoods) can expect to serve time in prison” (Alexander, 2012). The numbers tell the story better than words can: black people are more likely to go to prison than any other race in the United States, shown by the fact that more than 60% of the prison population is composed of people of color (The Sentencing Project, 2016). These statistics can be traced back to several different cause, including the Era of Jim Crow and the War on Drugs, both of which led to higher policing in minority areas.

The American criminal justice system has set up laws and by breaking the laws would be considered a crime, and depending on the crime that is broken have different types of degrees. And these crimes can be broken into three different categorize and whether or not it will be classified as a felony, misdemeanor or an infraction. A victimless crime is a crime that goes against societies values, norm but the people involved with these criminal acts do not feel victimized, compared to if they were being robbed or murdered. In order to make an educated opinion on a topic one must understand the history, controversy surrounding the topic and the different possible reforms being argued on what steps to take on the future of the society. Then with the information given one can take a firm stance on this controversial topic.

The goal of this archival research study is to identify the deep rooted prejudice and racism that has been perpetuated in our criminal justice system since it was created. Our justice system creates an unfair racial hierarchy that has and continues to criminalize African Americans due to the color of their skin. I will be analyzing the Reagan administration, the War on Drugs, corrupt police practices, media, and sentencing in order to reveal if racism and unfair treatment of African Americans in the criminal justice system is in fact occurring.

Many believe that the criminal justice system of our nation was created with the intentions of keeping our neighborhoods safe, by maintaining law and order within our communities. Has our criminal justice system failed in fulfilling its purpose? Has the system been redesigned with the intentions of unfairly targeting minority men? It seems clear that many agencies have been structured to unfairly target men of color, through many controversial tactics. It is also quite evident that the contentious policing tactics that have been deployed in many minority communities have severed policing relations in these neighborhoods. These unfair tactics have led to the unnecessary death of many minority men. Many believe that there are areas of needed

In regard to mythmaking, those who have a vast amount of power and control over the people are typically the ones responsible for fabricating such accounts in order to avoid certain areas of concern. The criminal justice system as a whole, embodies thousands of authoritative figures that citizens confide in. Myths that are fabricated within criminal justice play a vital part in coercing American society’s thoughts and perception, which by its nature, can serve as an advantage to some and destructive to others (Griffin, Woodward, & Sloan, 2016). According to Griffin, et al., individuals who perceive that these myths serve a purpose will seek to achieve ideals. In making this attempt, if at first they do not succeed, their ambition heightens and they try again. In contrary, others may take such myths as an attempt to guard an already biased, and unethical justice system (p. 126).

Racism and the criminal justice system cannot be separated from each other. The migration of many people from different ethnic background and parts of the world to the United States (Gabbidon Greene, 2006) has led to racial influences, attitudes and inequality among people in this country. Racial discrimination has also pervaded in the criminal justice system of the country. Discourses of racism in the criminal justice system involve many different issues, such as those involving the sources of racism, its manifestations, and the solutions to the problem. Below are articles that discuss these various aspects of interaction between racism and the criminal justice system.

After black slavery was abolished and a long period of “separate but equal”, the American society nowadays is still struggling in the conflict of racial groups. Specifically, racial inequality could be seen in the criminal justice system. When we expect the criminal justice system to bring us justice, it is actually holding the unfairness and injustice in

Since getting rid of segregation in the 1950’s, the U.S. has still portrayed an obvious amount of racism through the U.S. criminal justice system through racial biases. As of 2014, “Black Americans constitute roughly twelve percent of the American population, but nearly forty percent of incarcerated Americans are black” (Clemons). In his article Racism Undermines the US Criminal Justice System, expert Paul Street states “On any given day, 30 percent of African-American males ages 20 to 29 are ‘under correctional supervision’[...]a young black man age sixteen in 1996 faces a 29 percent chance of spending time in prison during his life. The corresponding statistic for white men in the same age group is 4 percent” (Street). Young