Joey Turner And Cory Batey Summary

"We simply cannot say we live in a country that offers equal justice to all Americans when racial disparities plague the system by which our society imposes the ultimate punishment." (Senator Russ Feingold, 2003). It has been proven that death sentencing across the USA is determined by the race of the victim and race of the defendant. In 1990, there was a report from the General Accounting office which concluded that those who murdered whites were more likely to be sentenced to death than those who murdered blacks. (Focus, 2003) This injustice amongst us are because people are scared and don’t know. They don’t know whether a black man is pulling out a gun, their phone, wallet, etc. So just to remain safe, they retaliate by killing our men. Society has grown to function on the fear of black men. Capitalism and the imprisonment of black people have become profitable. They’ve made a big business to just imprison black men. Black men are inheritably a threat to the capitalist structure of America, it protects their money, their politics, and their society.

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

At the prosecution stage, African Americans are subject to racially biased charges and plea agreements (TLC, 2011). African Americans are less likely to have their charges dismissed or reduced or to receive any kind of alternate sentencing than their white counterparts (TLC, 2011). In the last stage, the finding of guilt and sentencing, the decisions of jurors may be affected by race (Toth et al, 2008) African Americans receive racially discriminatory sentences from judges (TLC, 2011). A New York study from 1990 to 1992 revealed one-third of minorities would have receive a lesser sentence if they were treated the same as white and there would have been a 5 percent decrease in African Americans sent to prison during that time period if they had received the same probation privileges (TLC, 2011). African Americans receive death sentences more than whites who have committed similar crimes (Toth et al, 2008). Because of the unfair treatment from the beginning to the end of the justice system there is an over represented amount of African Americans in prison (Toth et al, 2008). Some of the problems faced by African Americans in prison are gangs, racial preferences given to whites, and unfair treatment by prison guards (Toth et al, 2008).

Crimes are committed every day, and convictions are processed every week. Racism is played into account when dealing with the law; therefore, many civilians are prosecuted depending on the color of their skin. Brock Turner is your average middle-class, white male who attended Stanford University with a scholarship for being a swimmer. This teen was accused of sexual assault, and his charges were very minor. This case lead to a whole deal of controversy throughout media because any other minority man who would have committed this crime would have faced up to ten or plus years in jail. Brock Turner has only received a couple months of jail time, and he was let off with a warning. There are

It is clear that Angela Corey overcharged Alexander in a case of institutional racism. 67 percent of the women in prison are survivors of domestic abuse and the majority of those women are black. If Alexander was a white female then her sentence and ruling would have been different. George Zimmerman, a Hispanic male was able to use the “Stand Your Ground” law in his defense and it worked. Although Zimmerman was recorded saying racist comments and defying the police’s orders, he was able to walk free. If Martin was a white teenager and Zimmerman was a black man, the jury would’ve made sure Zimmerman was behind bars. Unfortunately, people do not think like that and it is evident in history. African American lives have not mattered for centuries and the decisions in these cases prove that they still do not

Turner was caught raping, while Banks was accused. Both these men were found guilty, Turner only receiving six months, but did only three, and Banks would receive six years and would do most before exoneration. Turner is White and Banks is African American. Turner would have white privilege on his side, referring “to the advantages associated with being categorized as white” (Golash-Boza, 2016, pp.51). Turner would also have cultural capital with him being labeled as a Standford University swimmer that could do no wrong. Banks had neither except adultify; the all-white jurors saw him guilty before he was even convicted. In both these cases, race would be an obvious issue. Both would be convicted of rape, but the White man would receive three months of jail, while the African American would receive six years in

The Freddie Gray case was a big moment in the baltimore City justice system. There was a big rise in empathy and sympathy in the city over the course of the trials. The same crime committed by African Americans and whites have had different sentences. I witnessed a case of rape, the man’s name was Brock Turner and he was white. He was supposed to be in jail for fourteen years but got sentenced to six months and got out before that. Also there was a white girl that accused a Black guy of rape and he got fourteen years. That was just an accusation and he got more time while for Brock there was evidence and he got less, that's what racism looks

Many cases have been unfairly set for those who beaten on or even killed those of color, and also gotten away with it. Our way of thinking makes it clear that people of all races must be treated equally under the law. Yet we know that our society has not fully achieved that mentality. Many people believe, and try to make themselves believe, that racism no longer exists. Many people today live their lives unaware to what is happening in the world.

The case of Michael Dunn murdering Jordan Davis showed injustice in our nation’s court system because of the ultimate denial of the truth. Although Dunn was eventually charged, the time frame of rebuttal due to racial profiling is unacceptable. The injustice was a result of the Stand Your Ground Law which gave Michael Dunn a slight chance of walking away free. This nation must start making progress on racial injustice instead of letting it reach such epidemic

It there a disparity within the pretrial and sentencing procedures as well? Some studies have indeed found that African Americans are treated more harshly than whites even after legally relevant factors are taken into consideration (Mitchell 2005). Despite many reforms that have taken place throughout the years racial minorities are more specifically, those suspected of crimes against white people remain victims of unequal justice (Walker 2015). An african american male was charged with robbing a chicken place in Texas where there was no physical evidence to connect him to the crime, however he was convicted by an all white jury and sentenced to life in prison (Walker 2015). Another African American man was sentenced to life in prison for an armed robbery and murder of a white man, in which he had an alibi for. The jury convinced him without any finger prints or evidence (Walker 2015). Both

The criminal justice system operates at various levels throughout the United States (US): the federal, state, and local governments combine to perform different tasks in order to properly enforce the law throughout the US. The judicial branch of the US contains the courts system, which enforces the law by punishing those who have committed illegal acts. The act by which a court executes its power and punishes somebody with some sort of consequence is referred to as a sentence (Greene, 2011, p.1). Throughout the history of the US, there have been many famous court cases where a defendant is either wrongfully convicted or given an unfair sentence because they belong to a minority group. Such instances where a person is given an unfair

This impression of mine did not change until my first return to the U.S. to pursue a bachelor degree. Through numerous Criminal Justice courses, I discovered that some who commit crimes are not apprehended due to embedded racial prejudice. Some could be simply wealthy enough to “buy” their way out by hiring lawyers to navigate through loopholes in the law. Several studies have indicated that African Americans and Hispanics have higher incarceration rates than any other race. Explanations such as trait theories and life course theories are offered, but it still seems that our supposedly just system can sometimes be unjust.

This book put a lot of weight on other issues that could have a factor in the charges versus race. The criminal-justice system process is comprised of many stages, and decisions, at which law enforcement (such as police and judges) must determine how they ought to proceed, arrest or release a suspect; convict or acquit a defendant; impose a harsh or mild sentence on a convict. Some people say the the justice system is fair because not all the justice system is racist. The justice system has three main parts which are legislative,adjudication, and corrections. People say the legislative part is fair so it's impossible for the justice system to be unfair. The law was made for minorities because when they made the constitution and the bill of

In America it is widely believed that those with privilege can escape the justice of the law. Brock Turner is one such recent example, convicted of a raping an unconscious woman behind a dumpster he received only a six months sentence. According to U.S. swimming record holder Sabir Muhammad “Brock Turner was found guilty of three felonies and he got a slap on the wrist...this case speaks volumes to class in America and the inequities of the American judicial system” (Drash). It becomes apparent to those observing this case that Turner escaped justice because of his status as a Stanford athlete and being a white male. This not only ties in with rape

According to a study of the death penalty in Texas, “between 1930 and the end of 1996, 4,200prisoners were executed in the United States, more than half (53%) were black” (Case against the Death Penalty). This issue is a pretty sensitive issue in the debate of the death penalty. However, another study has shown that white Americans who killed other whites are more likely to end up on death row than black Americans. I want to say that the death penalty in America is color blind. The death penalty is not depended on how much money they have, race of the victim, and the skin color of the criminals. Also, I believe killers put on death row are fair to the victims’ families. Innocent people were violently killed by the murderers and the families were psychologically traumatized by losing a family member. It would be fair to put the killers on the death penalty in order to honor the victims. It is right that the criminals take the retribution and be responsible for murdering and damaging families mentally. In addition, those who committed murder should have expected the retribution. We are always taught that actions have consequences. For example, touching a hot stove burns your hand, annoying teachers causes them to punish you, etc. I intensely believe