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Diversity In Criminal Justice Research Paper

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Diversity has become an important part of American culture. Differences in culture, gender, nationality, religion, and lifestyle are not only recognized in most aspects of society but celebrated and respected. Unfortunately, there is one area of society where diversity appears to be a hindrance instead of a resource: criminal justice. One of the goals of the criminal justice system is fair and equal application of criminal laws and punishment. Many news reports, articles, and research studies show that often times this goal is not met. Race especially seems to have a significance impact when it comes to how criminals are processed and punished. Research shows that minorities are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system …show more content…

Mr. Hunt was 19 years old at the time and after an appeal was convicted again by an all white jury of his peers. Even though there was no physical evidence that linked Mr. Hunt to the crime, he was sentenced to life in prison. Ten years later, DNA evidence cleared him of the crime but his appeals were still rejected. He was released from prison nine years later when investigators found the man that matched the DNA. That man has pled guilty to the murder of Deborah Sykes (“Darryl Hunt”, n.d.). There were numerous mistakes made during the investigation of this crime and although Mr. Hunt’s blood type was not a match for the DNA found at the scene of the crime, he was still convicted. While that fact could not be ignored today, it is still possible to prosecute cases like this without conclusive DNA evidence. According to Brand (2006), some jurisdictions do not have the resources to conduct DNA analysis. In addition, today’s jurors expect physical evidence and the absence of it raises reasonable doubt (Brand, 2006). Defendants may still be prosecuted based on other direct and circumstantial evidence such as a witnesses’ personal account. Either type of evidence may be used to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt (“Circumstantial Evidence”, …show more content…

This theory is derived from racial discrimination against blacks combined with the injustices of slavery. Violence and crime appear to be an outward expression of grievances that black offenders feels toward their white victims (D’Alessio & Stolenzberg, 2009). The theory is one of many at the core of interracial crime research much of which is focused on trying to explain black on white crime. Yet despite the “deep seated animosity” felt by blacks towards white people, evidence shows that most crimes tend to be intraracial (D’Alessio & Stolenzberg, 2009). Tures (2014) reports that FBI data on killings in 2011 reveal that 2,640 African Americans were killed that year. In 193 cases, the perpetrator was white and in 2, 447 the perpetrator was black (Tures, 2014). During the course of research for this assignment, research on the topic of intraracial crime was found as far back as 1985. Perhaps people should have realized back in 1984 that most rapes and murders are committed by members of the same race. The information may have been available in 1984 but not as widespread as technology has enabled it to be today. But considering the history of race relations in the U.S., bigotry probably played a role as well. The following scenarios revisit the Daryl Hunt case as it might have been handled in this day and time.

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