Brock Turner Case Study

Even before watching the video, “Race on Trial” I believed that there was racial bias in the justice system and all this video did was reaffirm that. The fact that these two cases were so similar it is no surprise that the judge jumped to race as the only factor that separated their sentences. Even though there are federal sentencing guidelines put in place to prevent/reduce sentencing disparities it still occurs and many have done in depth research on it. In “The Relationship between Race, Ethnicity, and Sentencing Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis of Sentencing Research” they compared sentencing outcomes of African Americans to whites and saw that 66% of the sentencing outcomes that they studied showed that African Americans had a higher sentencing

I had a hard time picking my Mercy Moment, but after reading this article on Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson, I knew this would be a good topic. Ronald was charged of an act he never committed. He served eleven years behind bars for no reason at all. One thing that made Cotton seem more suspicious was his previous relations with a white woman. He was in a relationship with a white woman for a couple of months so, to the police he seemed even more guilty. Ronald was then convicted to serve life in prison with fifty-five plus years. He then was convicted of another rape that also happened that night and was punished with two life sentences along with one-hundred and eighty plus years. It was not until eleven years served, 1995, that Cotton was founded not guilty after taking a DNA test that was just newly founded. Thompson grieved for picking Cotton, she felt horrible. She was happy to see him behind bars, the man she believed hurt her. But, after cops showed up to her door to tell her Cotton was not the one who raped her it was Poole, she immediately felt terrible. She then approached Cotton and told her how sorry she was and how terrible she felt. Cotton, with the heart he has, forgave her. They then went out to write a book together titled, Picking Cotton. In this book it talks about the trial, how Thompson felt after

Sentencing disparities as a result of an individual’s race or ethnic background, has been one of the most frequently investigated topics in criminological research. (Mitchell, Mackenzie 2004). Several studies have attempted to understand the impact of the offenders’ race on criminal sentencing but there has been variation in the results- some of studies concluded race does effect sentencing regardless of the legal variables; some studies revealed it does not; while other studies concluded that race does impact sentencing when coupled with other factors. (Pratt 1998).

The subject of race is one that has come up countless times when discussing or reading about the juvenile justice system. According to Jennifer Peck and Wesley Jennings article “race differences in court outcomes to the disadvantage of Black youth…” (Peck & Jennings, 2016). Youths that are Black or Latino are more likely to be punished more harshly than white youths who have committed

A Stanford University student and swimmer, Brock Turner, was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious girl in January 0f 2015. Turner is now required to be registered on the sex offender list; and even though sexual assault is a serious felony, he only served three months in jail because the judge, Aaron Persky, used his discretion. Judges have discretion by law, but Persky used his discretion to give Turner, who he viewed as promising kid instead of a dangerous offender, a shorter sentence. Some argue that being on the sex offender list is too harsh, but since Turner spent so little time in jail, him being registered on the sex offender list is crucial instead of harsh; with being on the list comes important treatment that can treat any underlying issue that caused Turner to assault the unconscious girl and to prevent him from assaulting anyone else.

This learner was not surprised that racial biases exist within our court system when it comes down to sentencing. So, are we saying the judges are racist? This learner hopes not, but she cannot help but wonder if they are just based on the number of African American that is housed in our jails/prisons. There just seems to be an overwhelming amount of us incarcerated verses Caucasians. It is also amazing that some of the sentencing time that judges past down for the same type of criminal act (e.g., burglary, auto theft, etc.) seems to be worst for African Americans more than there Caucasian counterparts. Especially if they are both first time offenders. Now, there could be other reasons for this, like pleading out their case verse going to trial. So, why is that? There could be many reasons, but for this discussion this learner will examine ways that we could eradicate some of the bias and discretion in the sentencing process.

PRISON. Not six months in jail, not 10 years in jail, it’s PRISON. Prison is much worse than a county jail. In most jails, you are held there waiting for a court date, for an OWI/DUI, driving without a licence, and many other minor things. Rape is considered a felony, and if you commit a felony, you will serve prison time. Why does Turner get to go to a county jail for only six months? What makes him any different than an ordinary guy on the streets? Oh yeah, he’s a good athlete at one of the top schools in the country. I guess that makes him different than any other person who would commit the same crime as him. But should his athleticism really change what he did? I don’t think

It has been proven across this country that the ratio of minorities to whites in jails and prisons is overwhelming. In 2010, African-American males were 6 times more likely than white males to be in jails and prisons as there were 678 white male inmates per 100,000 and 4,347 black male males per 100,000 locked away (Drake, 2013). This is up from 1960, when black males were 5 times more likely to be incarcerated (Drake, 2013). The ratio in the juvenile criminal justice system is not any better as in 2011, “African-American youths were 160% more likely to have been referred to juvenile court for a delinquent offense, 13% more likely to have been petitioned for formal case processing, 8% less likely to have been adjudicated, and 11% more likely to have had their petitioned cases waived to the adult system for criminal prosecution” (Howell & Hutto, 2012). These high ratios have caused a blame game across this country.

African-American and Hispanic youth learn early on that they are often not given the same opportunities and privileges as whites. Even when charged with the same offense as whites, they are more likely to receive longer sentences, be tried as adults, be locked in correctional facilities, etc. According to the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, the chance of a black male born in 2001 of going to jail is 32% or one in three. Latino males have a 17% chance. White males have only a 6% chance. In other words, Latino boys are

The story of Brock Turner and Cory Batey days in trial will get you shocked once you hear it. There was no justice in the matter for Cory Batey a black college athlete who raped an unconscious woman at a party while intoxicated during his days in trial the jury and judge found him guilty of his crime and sentenced him 15 to 25 years in jail. When it comes to Brock Turner who had a similar crime; a college athlete who was intoxicated and raped an unconscious woman behind a dumpster but during his trial days the judge and jury sentenced him 6 months, 3 with good behavior. This is a prime example of how your race affects your sentencing in court. During their trial waiting Batey apologizes to his victim while turner’s actions doesn't

Research shows that African Americans and Latinos have been the victims of racial profiling by the criminal justice system. African Americans and Latinos are at a higher risk of being arrested, prosecuted and sentenced that Whites. The main cause of racial disparities occurs because law enforcement agencies believe that African Americans and Latinos are at high risk of engaging in crime and violence. During prosecutions and court hearings, the jury and judges give harsher sentences to minority groups. As a result, minorities view the criminal justice system as unjust since it favors whites. This research paper reviews relevant literature to show white privileges and racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Additionally, the paper provides linkages between racial disparities in the United States criminal justice system and the law. In this regard, the main objective of the research paper is to give detailed insights on racial discriminations in the criminal justice system.

Minorities are targeted as criminal suspects by police officers because, more often than not, minories are likely to be poor, uneducated. Police base their assumption that minorities engaged in

America stands by traditional notions where rape culture is the norm and revolves around society. In particular, when a woman is raped, their actions prior to the incident are usually accounted for their fate of being sexually assaulted. Lately in America, there has been a controversy over women being victim blamed by legal authority in rape cases. These women are slut shammed for allegedly “asking for it” by being intoxicated and having the intention to “have fun”. Because of these accusations of allegedly seeking to engage sexually, rape victims are blamed for initiating the sexual act. An ongoing controversial rape case is the Stanford rape trial of Brock Turner, where the victim was sexually assaulted while unconscious near a dumpster. Turner was convicted for sexual assault, however was only incarcerated for three months. This has recently caused uproar due to justice and retribution not being equally served. The incident occurred near a university campus party; where alcohol was involved and memory loss was present. In addition, she was rushed to the hospital as a rape victim and was examined. Despite complying to use a rape kit and be evaluated, the victim’s accountability is undermined by the leniency of treatment in rape charges. When examining linguistic features of both parties’ written statements, several factors can be analyzed such as each participant’s stance and the credibility of their accounts. In addition, when dissecting a victim’s written account,

In March 2012, a San Diego County jury convicted Christopher Michael Raines of raping his 22-month-old daughter while he was supposed to be watching her for the day. Before Chelsea’s Law, Raines could have received a maximum 15 years to life in prison. He received 25 to life under the new law, meaning he has to serve a decade longer before being considered for parole (Dillon).

As I just finished reading this article about the ex-Stanford student who only received six months imprisonment for raping an intoxicated female. Additionally, reading this really aggravates me because not only did you rape someone but you never owned up to it. Brock Allen Turner committed a serious crime and is not paying for it, I feel this is where the race card can be played because his sentence was such drivel and did not match the crime. It is no way no one in the right state of mind thinks that a six-month sentence is equitable for the actions that he committed. This 23-year-old female had everything snatched from her in a matter of night that was supposed to be fun, she did not arrive at this party with this thought on her mind of being