Injustice For All: The West Memphis Three Essay

It was the beginning of October, and a 17-year-old teenager was hiding by a chain link fence. He had just stolen a purse from a nearby house, and a neighbor had called the police. An officer by the name of Elton Hymon had arrived and was trying to arrest the kid, whose name was Edward Garner. Garner began to climb the 6-foot fence, and Officer Hymon,

The criminal justice system is a used to protect our society from those who try to harm it. Departments such as courts, and police officers study the behavior of criminals; they want our communities to be safe. When a crime is committed these departments work together to protect the rights of our society and our own. As stated in the textbook, a crime is the “Conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction for which there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse” (Schmalleger). Our system is a balanced system, there are times where have to think about our own rights as one person, but there are also times where we have to include other people. We must think of our society and

Within the criminal justice system, officials abuse their power. The officials of the justice system have a duty to protect and perform their duties with unbiased decision making. The abuse of power jeopardizes people’s lives who are not able to sustain oneself and their families. Some people do not understand that poorer people find themselves in jail more and once a person is released, that person is subjected to return to jail for the amount of money owed to the state. There are many obstacles for the poor, especially those of color. People of color are treated unfairly in the justice system, from the arrest, the sentencing, and the release. The criminal justice system is supposed to be just but that is not the case. The criminal justice system allows for the police, public defenders, and judges to bend the laws and not be punished for their actions or that apologizes can fix the wrong that has been done. This paper will discuss the abuse of power from the justice system and the solutions to rectify the damages.

The basis of criminal justice in the United States is one founded on both the rights of the individual and the democratic order of the people. Evinced through the myriad forms whereby liberty and equity marry into the mores of society to form the ethos of a people. However, these two systems of justice are rife with conflicts too. With the challenges of determining prevailing worth in public order and individual rights coming down to the best service of justice for society. Bearing a perpetual eye to their manifestations by the truth of how "the trade-off between freedom and security, so often proposed so seductively, very often leads to the loss of both" (Hitchens, 2003, para. 5).

The criminal justice system used today is to follow principles that protect and establish equality for all and while the United States criminal justice system may strive to follow these right of the people, but unfortunately, this is where the system falls short of fundamental American principles. Repeatedly the criminal justice system does the adverse of what it’s supposed to do. It does not protect the many liberties the people should have. Some may argue that the criminal justice system is indeed fair for

After taking a canoe ride on an icy lake, 21-year-old McQuillen had vanished in southern Wisconsin. He slipped through their fingers like water, and it happened so suddenly. There is no mistaking, however, that McQuillen was dearly loved. The grief had been only multiplied when they learned that not just McQuillen but all four of the young men involved had been killed in the accident.

During recent studies from several researchers it has been concluded that there is a fault within our criminal justice system. Researchers discovered there is a high wrongful conviction rate within the United States judicial system. After, extensive research, it was found that wrongful convictions are caused by eyewitness error, false confessions, flawed forensic science, an informant, bad lawyering, and government misconduct. Without a doubt, this issue has shocked society, due to the fact we rely on the system for pure justice. Within my findings, it is apparent that victims of wrongful convictions suffer numerous affects when

The memory of incidents such as O. J. Simpson’s high profile criminal trial, the assault of Rodney King in Los Angeles in 1992, and the 2009 arrest and charging of Harvard Professor Henry Gates for racial profiling still freshly linger in the minds of many Americans. The people’s perceptions of justice in these situations continue to represent how the criminal justice system is viewed in present times, and continue defining racial disparity in America (Mauer, 2011).

“Most Americans harbor the presumption that their criminal justice system is fair and blind. Within that a priori delusion, an assumption is made that no person shall ever be convicted for a crime that he or she did not commit (Huff, 2002; Marquis, 2005),” (Jones 2012) .The United States upholds itself on the ideology of freedom yet represses the freedom of innocent American citizens. From a young age, children are taught that if they don’t lie, cheat or steal, they won’t have

Almost every day, we hear about justice being served upon criminals and we, as a society, feel a sense of relief that another threat to the public has been sentenced to a term in prison, where they will no longer pose a risk to the world at large. However, there are very rare occasions where the integrity of the justice system gets skewed and people who should not have been convicted are made to serve heavy prison sentences. When word of this judicial misstep reaches the public, there is social outcry, and we begin to question the judicial system for committing such a serious faux pas.

The United States of America is a country that was founded on the idea that all citizens would have equal rights and freedoms. For the protection of the people, and to maintain order, law has been developed over time. Rights advocates are constantly pushing the boundaries of what the law should, or should not be. Individual-rights and public-order advocates are in a battle of balance, leaving the justice system to decide what the best solution is for all.

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).

According to FBI 2010 UCR report, there was fifty-five homicide death reported, it’s second highest in the state of Tennessee after Memphis. Losing someone who we loved through homicide would be one of the most shocking experience, In my life period I haven’t experienced any homicide which includes my loved ones, I come from the peaceful neighborhood, since I was the child I grew up in a peaceful environment, there was low violence but minor, dangerous weapons such as guns, biological weapon or even swords were rare. I’m thankful for the way I was raised, grew up without knowing crimes, drug, weapon, etc. But when I hear news about homicide I envision how would my life change If I lose my loved ones, especially my father because men are more likely to get killed in homicide than women. It’s always strange feelings when the person was with you yesterday and today they are not here. Shared plans and dreams are no longer there, all lefts are the memories which were shared with a dead person. Deaths are sudden no one knows when we’re going to die but dying from another human being puts more grief than other types of death. My father is basically bread winner at the house currently, so there would be many effects in our day to day life. My reaction would be the same reaction as when someone lose their loved one 's specifically father. In this type of situation, I will try to calm myself and call the police as soon as I can, I will give much information to the offices as I can, I

Many people are enraged with the U.S. court system and feel that it does its job based on prejudice, unfair, and despicable standards in which it’s not held accountable for. This inserts a fear of the justice system within the people themselves with the resulting lack of trust created. There are countless cases of injustice that have made their way through the U.S. Court System such as the case of James Richardson was spent 21 years in jail for being accused for the poisoning and deaths of his 7 kids only to be let out later on after the real criminal had confessed to the crimes. Another crime that can be put on display is the case of James Bain who spent 35 years in prison (which is the longest time served by anyone who has been wrongfully convicted) for being wrongfully accused of multiple crimes including rape and was sent to prison for life only to finally be granted the use of DNA evidence review for his case which eventually was the deciding factor that gave him his freedom back. The case of Daryl Burton sickens many people to the core after he served 24 years in prison after being charged with murder. It was later found out that the police who were on Burton’s case pushed the “witnesses” to go against Burton and accuse him of the false crime. There are countless examples that can be used to show the devastating mistakes the court system has made over the years and the seemingly lack of effort to not only get it right the first time but to consider the importance of

Next we should contemplate the question of who is to decide what actions are just vs. unjust. In today's society the most significant proponent of justice would be our criminal justice system. This system produces just as much justice as it does injustice. Many people would argue with about this point. We are supposed to trust the people and the system we have chosen to represent our society. They are responsible for keeping society safe and for punishing those who do harm. Yet in recent years we