Discriminatory Criminal Justice System: A Case Study

Racial discrimination is where an employer commits race discrimination when it makes job decisions based on race or when it adopts seemingly neutral job policies that disproportionately affect members of a particular race. Federal and most state laws prohibit workplace race discrimination. Title VII -- the federal law that prohibits racial discrimination of the U.S. Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 work in concert to ensure that each resident’s chances in the pursuit of happiness are not damaged by their race. Although it is prohibited I believe that it is still an issue especially within the criminal justice system. I will support my answer with an ample amount of facts regarding racial discrimination within the criminal justice system.

Although saying the criminal justice system is racist is a controversial statement, there is evidence and statistics that prove it to be true. Research and evidence validate the issue of racism to be undeniable. Equality and justice are out of reach with the racism that takes place in our criminal justice system and our country. Racial discrimination is prevalent amongst the African American culture in issues regarding drug use, and incarceration which creates unfair inequality for this race. I will use peer reviewed articles to verify the racial disparity in the criminal justice system.

Discrimination is a known concept that happens everywhere, yet police and prosecutors are blind to it. Their ways of preventing crime are discriminatory in every sense of the word and they categorize people based on their skin color and where they reside. The disproportionate minority contact with the stop and frisk method is one of the ways that discrimination can be seen. “Code of the Street” and “Law and Disorder in Philadelphia” help dissect why discrimination is not seen by police and their agencies and also how police officers and their administration go about ways of preventing crime. The pressure within the police, community, and courts create inequalities for the individuals going through the Criminal Justice System.

Because of recent police shootings of racial minorities, there has been an increased call for police reform and reduction of racial bias by police (Kahn, Stele, McMahon, & Stewart, 2017). Racial minorities often are disproportionately stopped by police. Because of the heightened racial tensions and life-or-death consequences, understanding racial bias in policing is important (Kahn, Stele, McMahon, & Stewart, 2017). In a case study preformed of 212 incidents that occurred in 2012 from a medium metropolitan police department, the results showed that racial discrimination was directly related to the level of resistance the suspects used (Kahn, Stele, McMahon, & Stewart, 2017). When Latino or Black suspects resisted, they received significantly more force than when White

There has been an ongoing debate as to whether or not race and ethnicity have a bearing on an individual’s treatment in the criminal justice system for many years. I will be arguing that race and ethnicity do in fact, have a bearing on one’s treatment in the criminal justice system. I will be backing up my position on this topic by providing evidence from five scholarly articles.

Studies reveal that most of the drug users are from socially and economically backward classes. The complex and elaborate provisions concerning bail coupled with an inherent lack of knowledge of law, ignorance and poverty often leave the poor vanquishing in the prison. Thus, the bail provisions under the act must be amended to ensure that they do not cause any prejudice to any person coming from a certain background in the society or they do not serve as a detriment to another member of the society as everybody is equal in the eyes of law and no discrimination can be made between a rich and poor

There is so much information in this book that challenges how we view the criminal justice system and race relations. The content of this book is so dense that I had to take a break from reading it for about a week or so. I learned I could not skim or skip because I continually discovered new insights even when I thought I had already gotten it.

Most Americans would like to think that our criminal justice system is working the way it was intended, but they’re not aware that our criminal justice system shows strong evidence that it is biased and discriminatory in regards to minorities, the majority are African Americans. Studies show that African Americans are more aggressively targeted and punished throughout the system, not just during sentencing. Data collected nationally shows how race is correlated to drug use, police stops, arrests, likelihood to be released on bail, jury selection, trial, sentencing, prison as well as the option of capital punishment.

General Order 600-42, establishes the department’s policy against the practice of racial profiling as set out in state and federal laws, concerning racial profiling and discriminatory practices in general. Discrimination in any form, including racial profiling, is strictly prohibited and the department shall take immediate and appropriate action to investigate allegations of discrimination (Houston Police Department General Order, 2012).

Racial discrimination is defines as racism that implicates the credence in racial differences, which acts as a justification for non-equal treatment of members of that race. Also, this paper will be focusing on the race industry within the criminal justice system in all level law enforcement, courts and court system. Racial discrimination can be researched back in history its leading enablers take it as undisputable that the African American community has the highest number of incarceration rates result within the criminal justice system. According to many evidence and statistics is can be stated that at a presidential primary debate Barack Obama made a statement that blacks and whites are arrested and charged within a different rate the black community arrest rate is higher than the white community in the courts and in the correctional facility system. Where the courts are quicker to give a white offender a better deal to ensure that they are back with their family and community. The minority do not receive the same fair sentence when they are being punished African American are offenders are subject to harsher sentences. Moreover, the white community receives different sentences compared to the African American, black population or offenders. The statement was made by president Obama doing the Martín Luther king Day event which was a great day to point out problems within the criminal justice system because it is a disgrace of a criminal-justice system that incarcerates

Racial disparity is a problem that has always existed in South Texas and in the Criminal Justice System. There are different perspectives towards the existence of discrimination in this system that the debate of it remains unsolved. Some scholars state that race or ethnicity is not important in the treatment of inmates; nevertheless, most research shows the inequality of the race of inmates and the treatments they receive. In Texas’ prisons, seven out of ten inmates are Hispanics or African Americans, being imprisoned disproportionately thanks to the racist laws of the state. According to the statistics used for this article, Blacks in South Texas are more like to be arrested than any other race; being arrested two times more than Whites; meanwhile

It’s hard being a African American in the Criminal Justice System. Article “Is the Criminal Justice System Racist” states that “Blacks and whites are arrested at very different rates, are convicted at very different rates, [and] receive very different sentences … for the same crime.” This statement is most definitely true, it has happened here in Thomasville, GA. There was a African American man who was arrested for rapping a 16 year old girl and when he went to court they sentenced him to 15 years in prison. A Caucasian man committed the same crime but instead of the girl being 16, she was 13. He was charged with rape but went to jail for one day and was let off on a bond.

The american criminal justice system has been fueled by the racism for far too long in this country. As members of this society we need to take a stand for what's right and to review the laws of this nations to ensure correct practices of law is carried out in a fair fashion and for our elected officials to uphold the fairness in criminal procedures. Otherwise millions of americans will be incarcerated each day for injustice of our laws.

Starting my critical analysis Kennedy’s material I feel was informative, interesting, and accurate information. There is no question that racial issues pose to be one of the biggest obstacles that the criminal justice system faces; how the issues come into play and what to do about them is the difficult matter. For instance, for many years African Americans have dealt with racial discrimination, including Trayvon Martin, having to be opposed to unequal treatment when it comes to the color of his skin and resulting in a tragic death because of racial profiling. In like manner, blacks not having equal protection against criminality when rape and murder, or ways the legal system discriminates against blacks and judge them to be suspects and convicts

I believe the Criminal Justice System to be racist because in the text from “what it’s like to be black in the Criminal Justice System.”It says “all black men’s sentences were, on average, ten percent longer that those of their white peers.” This is telling us that ten percent more of blacks are going to jail, while whites who do the same crimes will not be sentenced as long. This isn’t right at all, if blacks have to be in jail for a long time, white’s who do the same thing should be in jail as long as them. Everybody, regardless of race and religion, remain equal and deserve the same thing, either a warning or time in jail, for a crime they both did, instead of one getting let off, while the other goes to jail.