African Amercan's versus the Justice System

On March 3, 1991 Rodney King led the Los Angeles police on a high speed chase. Once the chase was over officers pulled King out of his vehicle and began to brutally beat,taze and stomp on him. The recording of the video taken by a witness standing on the other side of the street was locally broadcasted then nationally broadcasted.The reasons that police officers acted the way they did was because “Rodney King was driving while intoxicated and when officers attempted to arrest him, the large belligerent man resisted that arrest.” (Blue Knights with Lt. Dan Marcou ) It was already said that King had a criminal record of second degree robbery and out on parole so the officers were aware of who he was by now. I also believe that racial profiling was another factor that caused the police officers to act they way that they did. As stated by Connie Rice a lawyer and civil rights activist , “The LAPD at the time was almost an occupying force, partially biased against people of color.” (Sastry & Bates) Personally, I do not believe that the officers acted in an appropriate matter because instead of pulling him from his car and brutally beating him they should've just gone up to him and arrested him. I understand that he was seen as a threat during this time because of the high speed chase but there were other ways that they could have handled the situation. The use of forces that could have been appropriate for this situation were verbal commands, maybe a bit of empty hand control with the soft empty hand technique and if he resisted then that is when the use of less lethal force would of been used. Also they found out that in the first three seconds of the film were cut of and showed that “Rodney King rising up from the street to charge one officer in a clear-cut violent assault. In self defense, that officer struck King with his PR-24.” (Blue Knights with Lt. Dan Marcou.) Now with this new information I believe that the officer had a right to defend himself however not to the extent that they all went. Hitting King ith the PR-24 would have caused him to fall and during that time they could have arrested him instead. According to Biography.com, “The United States Department of Justice filed federal civil rights charges

 Racism is a big flaw in our criminal judicial system, just the fact that at least one out three African American males is expected to go to prison shows that racism plays a big part in mass incarceration. African Americans make up a majority of the prison’s population than any other race. Poor and segregated locations are more closely spectated and followed by police officers than wealthy locations because, they expect poor segregated area to be more dangerous because of the people who live there and how the environment around them looks like. Police officers should not discriminate people because, of their status and/or skin color. For example, in the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird” Atticus Finch proves the innocence of Tom Robinson a

When looking at illegal actions and activities, also known as crimes, people of all color commit them. Whether people commit lesser or more excessive crimes, the action will be committed by a multitude of races. People of all colors are able to achieve the standards that have been set by society. When looking at the statistics, the evidence shows that people of color, especially African Americans tend to get harder and more solemn charges for the crimes that they have committed. What people might not notice is that there is a racial bias in the judicial system. That bias is changing the outcome of indictments. With all of the change going on in the United States of America, one untouched subject is the racial bias in the judicial system. If a change does not occur now, then when will there ever be a change? There is a racial bias in the judicial system, and a change needs to occur now.

There are several views of the murder of Emmett Till regarding the topic of whether or not he received justice. Emmett Till, a fourteen-year-old boy, was murdered purely based on racism, because he was killed for “wolf-whistling” at a white woman in August 1955. He was brutally murdered after being nearly beaten to death and having his eyes gouged out. When Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, two people involved in Till’s manslaughter, were placed on trial for his murder, they were pronounced innocent and did not receive any punishment. After being tortured and savagely killed, no one was held responsible for Emmett Till’s death. Emmett Till did not receive justice after his death.

The criminal justice system in the United States is evident of several deep flaws relating to the treatment of black men and women accused of committing criminal offenses. It is logical to believe that due to the U.S.’s rather dark past surrounding the treatment of black Americans, systematic racism is included under the guise of the criminal justice system. The U.S. is historically infamous for it’s open racial discrimination against black Americans, up until systematic racism became one of the more dominant forms of discrimination in the most recent years. Systematic racism has been shrouded under societal ignorance and regulated particularly by social and political groups in order to keep the human rights of black Americans frigid and

Racial Disparity is denoting or diminishing a human species based on race and physical characteristics. Let’s start off by just stating the obvious, “Roughly 12% of the United States population is black. Yet in 2011, black Americans constituted 30% of persons arrested for a property offense and 38% of persons arrested for a violent offense. Black youths account for 16% of all children in America yet make up 28% of juvenile arrests.” (http://www.sentencingproject.org/publications/shadow-report-to-the-united-nations-human-rights-committee-regarding-racial-disparities-in-the-united-states-criminal-justice-system) I believe the biggest disparity in the United States is incarceration rates. In 2010 according to the prison policy initiative in the United States Whites make up for 64% of the population, Hispanics 16% and blacks 13% of the United States population. When it comes to the percent of United States incarnated population Whites make up for 39%, Hispanics 19% and Blacks 40%. This study shows that Blacks are incarnated more and at a more punishable rate. Not only are black people sentenced more but they are also sentenced harsher. In an article written by Nazgol Ghandnoosh, Ph. D and research analyst says that blacks are sentenced 14 percent longer than whites. There is bias everywhere in the criminal justice system in my opinion not only with prosecutors but with officers of the law in any way, judges, etc. Another racial disparity in the

Many people believe that Whites are treated better than minorities. I agree with this opinion, however; I believe that the justice system favors Whites more than African-Americans. Throughout history it shows that the criminal justice system was never in place to serve and protect every human being. When slavery was legal the criminal justice system created laws to enslave human beings. It is not a surprise that the justice system does not work in favor with African-Americans because it has never worked in our favor. The legal system only benefits those of White people.

There is no denying that the criminal justice system is downright corrupt, unjust, and powerful. By corrupt, the criminal justice system degrades the power it possesses to perform in its out most potential. By unjust, the criminal justice system disposes of equal treatment and exhibits discrimination of individuals of society. By powerful, the criminal justice system utilizes discretion and fear to respond to situations that entail the lives of racial minorities. These ideas extend to a much greater problem which is the disposition on minorities. There is the majority group, also known as the dominant group, and there are the minority groups, also known as the subordinate group. The dominant group have power either politically or economically. The subordinate group have less power and are mostly comprised of people of

The justice system has shown to have bias towards African-American males through the sentencing process and the incarceration process. Compared to fellow racial counterparts there is a visible and clear line that shown in the disparities that occur. Not only is bias being played throughout, but the proper programs are not being put into place to help families and especially the youth of the African-American community. Instead a form of neglect is going on that is creating a constant cycle that is the root of the systematic incarceration of African-American males. Another problem I believe is within predominately African-American communities, we do not help ourselves by promoting violence especially after tragic events such as the killing of unarmed African-American male Michael Brown that was due to the hand of police fire. In the situation riots took place and everything broke loose in Ferguson, Missouri but around the nation in other places peaceful protest took place displaying the true meaning of the #blacklivesmatter movement which is just to speak up against the harsh reality we has a race not the violence that is displayed on TV and news stations that gives off the condescending message as a hate group. Overall we should contribute towards our betterment as a race also, and maybe that can help shift the racial disparities that occur in the unfair

The topic of whether or not there is racism in the legal system is becoming increasingly debatable among certain groups. The obvious evidence that has been glaring in the faces of the public for decades says it all: the criminal justice system is, and always has been, swayed by racism. Despite this, the opposing side of the argument - which mostly consists of privileged whites – diligently argues that racism was outlawed decades ago. There are also African Americans who are unaware of how their race is constantly being oppressed. However, the younger generation is quickly becoming culturally and politically woke and passing on the knowledge. Although racism is not explicitly stated in the law, racists are still hiding behind the supremacy of the country. White policemen have went as far as mindlessly killing young black people and claiming it was done out of self-defense. White judges will find loopholes in the legal process when dealing with an offense committed by an African American. They are targeting African Americans and punishing them more harshly than the white people who commit crimes.

One way African Americans have a disadvantage in the criminal justice system is the arrest rates. Per chapter 4 in the Color of Justice book, it states that “66 percent of African Americans are more likely to be arrested before the age of 30” (Samuel Walker; Cassia Spohn; Miriam Delone, 2012, p. 172). Based on the statistics given, African Americans seem more likely to be targeted for an arrest. The population for the African American community only makes up for 13 percent of the United States, and out of that statistic, most them will be arrested. There should be a justification to the judicial system for this outrageous arrest rate on the African American community. Another way on how African Americans have a disadvantage through the criminal justice system is by the judicial system. Chapter seven in the “Color of Justice” book briefly describes the racial differences on how

There has been a lot of research into the reasons that disparities and discrimination exist in the American judicial system, their inadequacies and what should be done if anything, to correct these deficiencies in the process. One particular area that seems to encompass both the disparities and discrimination in the American judicial system is the treatment of young black males in society. Statistics seem to reveal that more blacks commit more crime, and thus are singled out by profiling, and then subsequently incarcerated more

As I have read the two articles of Chaney and Robertson, and Yancy and Butler, it demonstrates that mostly black men and women particularly Africans are the most victim of the brutality by the police in America. The reasons behind this situation is all about race. The results are the racism and discrimination against blacks. There are a lot of instances that unarmed black men and women see as a threat by the police. In other words, it shows that blacks are dangerous and threats. However, having white skin did not see as a threat even if they did something suspicious. Chaney and Robertson states an example of an incident of Rodney King who was beaten by members of LAPD or Los Angeles Police Department. Then, because of this incident, many people

Many people in the minority community believe that white police officers are far more responsible for abusive conduct toward minorities than any other group(2). The authors of Beyond the Rodney King Story conclude that “ Police abuse in America largely consists of white officers abusing minority citizens. Rickie Clark of the National

The justice system in colonial Africa was atrocious at best, in the beginning years. Colonial masters sought to implement their native brand of justice on a civilization that already had its own local customs and traditions. The introduction of the “white man’s rules” were almost always met with resistance and strife. The smart colonial authorities quickly understood that to introduce their system of justice, they had to respect the local systems and slowly wean the people off their native system and introduce them to a new system. In territories where indirect rule was applied, mostly British colonies, the colonial authorities let the local leaders and monarchs continue to judge using their own rules and gradually began to introduce British rules when they installed leaders that supported their ideologies into strategic positions.