Race Discrimination Cases

Similarly, there is need to examine whether race plays a role in determining if one is convicted or released. This is because an all-white bench convicted Hunt, who is of African American descent, of a crime he did not commit. Whether racial prejudice plays any role in our criminal and justice system needs critical examine since the law should be fair and equal before all. A non-discriminative judicial system will enhance public trust and eliminate cases of wrongful conviction.

Race is one of the most controversial topics when speaking of bias, and still to this day race is occasionally believed to sway the judicial system’s decisions. A recent statistic proved that less than 5 years ago in North Carolina more than 52% of potential black jurors were cut, or peremptory challenged, meaning they removed from a case without reason (S.M.). Not only do jurors experience discrimination but suspects on trial have also suffered for decades. Evidence shows judges sentence black convicts to 20%

The O.J. Simpson trial created a spotlight on what people like to call “a race-based” case. Discrimination and police brutality towards African Americans created a potency for the justice system. Over a number of years America still faces the same issues regarding race: “132 years after the Emancipation

The author of this article is Cornelia Grumman won the Pulitzer Prize in 2003 and found the organization the First Five Years Fund where she advocated for stronger federal policies. The audience she could be targeting would be the government to create stricter guidelines when imposing capital punishment. The purpose of this article is to give awareness of how race can create bias factors in the justice system. It has been commonly seen

The first reason that many see as proof of how the justice system has failed is that their are still many cases where people of color are discriminated against by police Police brutality is . A example of racism still existing is when George Zimmerman

Can racial bias have an effect on the verdict of being guilty or innocent? The American judicial courtroom has been comprised of the nation’s many greatest racial discriminatory cases over the past century, but the most racially upstanding case, when referring to Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird includes The Scottsboro Trials. Both stories uprise in the 1930s, displaying a white supremacist mindset, which two cases fall into the conviction of rape. The Scottsboro case started on a train to northern Alabama to southern Tennessee, when nine African American boys, ranging in ages from 13-19, allegedly raped two “innocent” Caucasian women, Victoria Price and Ruby Bates. Racial discrimination uprises in American judicial system when shown in To Kill a Mockingbird and The Scottsboro Trials through the racial prejudice within the jury in the courtroom, easy accessibility to target African Americans, biased accusations, as well as the social pressure to serve in one’s defense.

Racial disparity in the sentencing process of the criminal justice system also exists because of racial jurors. To eliminate the suspensions of racial disparity of racial jurors the jury will select at least one African-American to serve for the jury. A percentage of African-Americans oppose capital punishment (Tabak, 1999, p. 6). Prosecutors commonly discriminate against African-Americans during challenges of discretions and blatantly abuse the powers of prosecutors. Juries predominantly use more Whites in every trial is inappropriate on the levels of the criminal justice system. Americans have rights to a trial by jury of peers and has the right not to exclude minorities in the selection of a jury. Excluding minorities in a jury of an individual’s peers is a violation of an objective and fair trial for a defendant.

In modern-day America the issue of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system is controversial because there is substantial evidence confirming both individual and systemic biases. While there is reason to believe that there are discriminatory elements at every step of the judicial process, this treatment will investigate and attempt to elucidate such elements in two of the most critical judicial junctures, criminal apprehension and prosecution.

Another strong bias displayed in the judicial system is the obvious bias in criminal sentencing in the court. Many studies support the conclusion that people of color are sentenced longer in prison for the same crime as a white person (McElrath, Tran, and

When individuals think of the criminal justice system, the first images that come to their minds are a judge, jury full of people, the prosecution, and the defense. These images are what make up the courtroom environment, however, no one realizes how skin color affects what happens in the courtroom. Although race should not be a factor in determining said person’s sentencing, it is and sadly results in wrongful convictions as well as riots and protests as of recently. In the Independent.co.uk article and the Corrections.com article both entitled “Is the Criminal Justice System Fair,” deliberate on the capability of the criminal justice system and question why individuals might view the system as unfair. In the article “What Happened in Ferguson,” produced by The New York Times, explains the events that took place from the death of Michael Brown to the trial of Darren Wilson, the police officer who killed him, to the aftermath after the trial. Although the criminal justice system has a negative connotation associated with its name, the fact-based website, Snopes.com, determines whether the negative reputation against the criminal justice system is true or something that has been exploited by the media.

The bias in the American criminal justice system is first reported in the first stages of the system, which includes the (act of asking questions and trying to find the truth about something) and arrest of the suspected people by police personnel (American Civil Liberties Union, 2013). These police personnel discriminately target the minorities as criminal suspects, which eventually skews the racial population of the people arrested, charged, put in jail or convicted (Cole, Smith, & DeJong, 2013). One of the key problems suffering (from sickness) the U.S. criminal justice system is (assuming certain races of people are more likely to commit crimes) (Cole, Smith, & DeJong, 2013). This involves the identification of criminal suspects on the basis race or (special way of speaking/mark that shows emphasis). According to Cole, Smith, & DeJong (2013), (assuming certain races of people are more likely to commit crimes) is widespread because the police agents enjoy a large amount of (ability to make wise decisions) as to who they think about/believe as a suspect. For example, in Baltimore, African-American car/truck drivers are discriminately stopped for minor traffic offenses because they are believed to be more likely tobe start/work at more serious criminal activity than whites (Saad, 2011). This results in a large percentage of innocent African-Americans and other minority drivers such as Puerto Ricans, Colombians and Cubans to be illegally subjected to the embarrassment (in

The study conducted by MSU examined jury selection as well as the decisions made by said juries. “The MSU study of capital charging and sentencing found that those who kill whites are more likely to get the death penalty than those who kill blacks. The MSU study found that a defendant is 2.6 times more likely to get the death penalty if the victim is white.” (ACLU). Following the study, North Carolina passed a law entitled the “Racial Justice Act”. This piece of legislature made it possible for inmates to appeal their sentences due to supposed racial profiling. Since the passing of the law last year, there have been 4 successful appeals. The law doesn’t guarantee that the whole sentence will be reversed; however, it puts in place a system that allows for flaws in the length/severity of the sentence to be readdressed. The passing of the law as well as the MSU study prove that although there are more minorities being charged for crimes, the charges are of ill-willed intentions.

When looking at illegal actions and activities, also known as crimes, people of all color commit them. Whether people commit lesser or more excessive crimes, the action will be committed by a multitude of races. People of all colors are able to achieve the standards that have been set by society. When looking at the statistics, the evidence shows that people of color, especially African Americans tend to get harder and more solemn charges for the crimes that they have committed. What people might not notice is that there is a racial bias in the judicial system. That bias is changing the outcome of indictments. With all of the change going on in the United States of America, one untouched subject is the racial bias in the judicial system. If a change does not occur now, then when will there ever be a change? There is a racial bias in the judicial system, and a change needs to occur now.

Having a diverse bench is critical to having a successful criminal justice system. The United States court system follows a presumption of innocence, meaning those who enter a courtroom are presumed innocent until proven guilty. This presumption of innocence is not always found in the courtroom. Every courtroom actor, whether consciously or unconsciously, has a bias towards the defendant and may even presume guilt before the case begins. This is especially true when there is a white judge acting on cases involving a defendant who is a part of the minority. Judges who represent the minority are not only unbiased towards defendants of their own race, but they also bring new perspectives to the bench (Haire & Moyer, 2015). They present ideas, understandings, and

The US courts were put in place to examine a case and make a legal decision that will settle the dispute. These courts have flaws that affect the outcome of justice being served and falsely incriminate the innocent. Courts utilize a jury to see the different perspectives throughout the trial and determine a verdict, while the judge creates a sentence appropriate to the offense. The jurors are required to come to a non-bias decision but that not always the situation. Decisions are sometimes made on the race, religion, ethnicity and/or sexual orientation of the defendant, no matter their innocence. In research done in “What It’s Like to Be Black in the Criminal Justice System”, Andrew