Keith Lamont Scott Case Analysis

In the past years we have seen many riots and debates over the racism and inequalities in our criminal justice system. We have heard story after story, and watched video after video of police brutality and racism in America. We saw the unfair outcome of the Zimmerman and Treyvon Martin case. When George Zimmerman followed Treyvon Martin, a seventeen year old African American boy who was walking around the neighborhood, just because he looked suspicious to him. Even after notifying the police, Zimmerman followed Martin and ended up shooting him, after Zimmerman had hung up with the dispatcher who told him they did not need him

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

The Dred Scott case came at a very turbulent time in American history. It came

Gun control has been a long debate to determine if it’s better to have stricter access to firearms. America is one of the few countries that has gun rights embedded in their constitution. But what makes the US exceptional is that it has the right to keep and bear arms, other countries do not provide the right to have access to them, but rather, the government is allowed to regulate its use. The right to bear arms has also been the cause of growing violence and crime, at least according to anti-gun lobbyists. Citizens should be aware the dangers and harm that guns present to society. Controlling the sale of firearms can greatly decrease the number of violent crimes.

America is supposed to be the land of the free and opportunity and that everyone is equal but it seems that it only applies to certain people. I do not have full confidence in our justice system, our justice system does not always work to protect all the citizens because of the discrimination and racial inequalities persist at every stage of the U.S. criminal justice system, from policing to trials, and sentencing. There also has been numerous accounts of police misconduct and police brutality we see it through every form of media whether it be the local news, newspapers or social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. We see horrific violence against individuals of color the issue of police brutality and racial profiling. Today in America, African Americans and Latinos comprise approximately 60 percent of imprisoned individuals. Things like Stop and Frisk and Racial Profiling cause cops to stop people color at a much higher rate than any other races.

Too many people have lost their lives due to careless accidents and violent acts of crime that could have possibly both been avoided with more control. According to a Lancet study implementing federal universal background checks could reduce firearm deaths by a projected 56.9%; background checks for ammunition purchases could reduce deaths by a projected 80.7%; and gun identification requirements could reduce deaths by a projected 82.5%.(pro) Research shows that more gun control law being implemented could saves thousands of lives each and every year.

Since Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, the criminal justice system of the United States has moved past racial discrimination greatly. With the election of President Obama in 2008, it would be easier to say that discrimination no longer exists in the criminal justice system. However, despite the progress that people of colour have made in society, there still exists a great racial disparity that can be seen through the rising trends of the sentencing and incarceration of minorities.

Racial disparity in the criminal justice system is widespread and it threatens to challenge the principle that our criminal justice system is fair, effective and

Gun control has raised various debates in the public policy for quite a long time. Gun control involves the banning of ownership of some or all types of firearms, waiting period and the so called ban on Saturday night specials. These gun control laws have not been useful in combating crimes as many studies conducted before and after the laws have shown no correlation. In most cases there are misconceptions like high death rates in children related to the gun associated accident and the effectiveness of these control laws in other countries which are false. Indeed gun ownership has contributed to significant decline in the crime rates and therefore gun laws should be changed to make it easier for Americans to purchase handguns, carry them

Some suggest that our nation requires more gun control. I say these claims are absurd! I feel that it is common sense that a criminal or any individual determined to do harm will not follow this ridiculous new law. The only results that could come of it is more illegal gun trade and innocent individuals being stripped of their right to defend themselves as well as other by standers. Doing so will without a doubt provide non law abiding citizens with the idea that they hold power over the innocent

We read about it almost every week in social medias. New victims of the police shootings are displayed and sympathized with. What many do not realize is that most of this injustice remains unheard, usually not through police brutality but through convictions. Much more African Americans are convicted than white people, and get worse punishments for the same crime.

Since 1776, independent nation of the United States encountered countless of political, economical, as well as territorial obstacles. The Civil War in 1861 ranked highest among the numerous historical turns in America. Although, many debates and disputes foreshadowed this tragedy of internal split, the issue of slavery proved to be one of the major cause of the war. Despite the fact that the Kansas-Nebraska Act has already passed, the case of Dred Scott drifted the nation even further toward disunion. On March 6, 1857, this simple case turned into a complex political issue, arguing the rights of the black slaves. At the same time, Dred Scott case resulted in an unexpected decision over the territorial slavery issue in the United States.

As Anita Hill once stated, “We have a history of gender and racial bias in our court that continues to undermine the system. Excluding individuals based on race is antagonistic to the pursuit of justice.” RACISM- Another word for ignorance; another way of saying nature should have had only one type of flower or one species of animal. Racism is like looking at a box of crayons and not seeing all the colors. Racism is another word for fear- fear of the unknown. For many of us, those of diverse races and creeds are the great unknown. The simple question that begs asking is: why? What role does race truly play in the criminal justice system and is the system truly as colorblind as many individuals believe it to be? With this country’s shameful history of slavery, the Jim Crow Laws, and numerous other racially biased injustices, it seems likely race does, play a role in the countless facets in the United States (U.S) criminal justice system. Our system is clearly, not, color blind. Although a handful of naïve people remain oblivious to the racism ubiquitously occurring, negative attitudes toward people of color are, even now, prevalent in our courts. Not only is racism found in the corners of our streets, but also, it is found where we work, in schools our children attend, and, most significantly, in our justice system. It is about time for people to start examining the causes and begin looking for resolutions to this severe predicament. We – As America, have the ability to

“That’s one pain that will never go away until the day you die,” she said. “You have to live with that pain. There’s no closure. There’s no nothing. Especially when the person or child was so violently taken away from you.” said Juanita Young, mother of Malcom Ferguson, who 's son was killed by the result of police brutality. He is not the first or last person of the black minority to be cheated by the justice system. Today it is perfectly legal to discriminate against criminals in nearly all the ways that it was once legal to discriminate against African Americans(Alexander). The justice system in America was set up to protect citizens while upholding social control and deterring crime. But the poor guidance within the system has caused racial disparities to persist at every level of the U.S. criminal justice system. All across the country, African Americans receive racial discrimination in the justice system ranging from bias drug arrests, police brutality, to incarceration.

It is sickening how the police continue to terrorize young African Americans, especially males and the youth are still made out to be the bad guys. The author of Crime and Punishment states: “American History is rich in forms of lawlessness…take place “inside” the legal system itself, or are aspects of that system- police brutality for example” (Olsen, 2000, p.172). You would think that if people know about all the police brutality that people would start to try to do something to change it. But the very people who are supposed help bring justice, are the ones committing the injustices. Rodney King at the time 26 years old is a prime example of police brutality he was beaten by four police officers who were acquitted of all charges. Another example of the police brutality is a more recent case Eric Garner, who was choked to death by a police office. They accused him of selling cigarettes on the street. In the video all he did was ask them to leave him alone because they always harassed him. The police refused to leave him alone and used unnecessary force by putting him in a choke hold. In the video, I can hear Eric panting for his life “I CAN’T BREATHE”. He repeated, this several times until he finally died. Of course the officer was not charged with anything. It is so sad to me that there can be all this evidence of the defendant being guilty. People are so colorblind they cannot even make a proper