Racial Profiling within America’s Criminal Justice System The criminal justice system of America is deeply scarred with racial bias. Crimes are being committed and, in turn, are resulting with innocent people doing hard-time. Thankfully, newfound methods of appealing court rulings are finding justice for these minorities; however, the results are as shocking as the crimes being committed. When it was found that the majority of successful appeals were of minorities, the true defects of the system was apparent. The minority community is being critically judged for things they’re not doing. Throughout the last decade lawmakers have be aiding the racial profiling scene. Arizona legislature passed a law allowing for an officer to demand …show more content…
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. In addition to undeserved charges, DNA testing has exonerated hundreds of people for crimes in which they were convicted over the past few years. When DNA testing became readily available to the criminal justice system, crucial flaws began to surface. It was realized that people were serving hard-time for felony crimes they didn’t commit.
Racial profiling can be a used as a basis for racist police offers to arrest more minorities and this is documented very often. Racist police use racial profiling as a reason to stop, question, and detain minorities in traffic stops and elsewhere on their job. Their abuses have been well documented; in the book Driving While Black by Kenneth Meeks the author shows many examples of abuse of racial profiling. Meeks talks about the New Jersey highway patrol and how anti-racial profiling activists have used the highway patrol in New Jersey as an example of how using racial profiling is a racist activity. In the book he gives the example of
The most controversial issue related to law enforcement profiling is racial profiling. “Some law enforcement officers have created their own profiles based solely on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on the behavior of an individual” (Levinthal, 2012 pg. 123). For decades racial profiling has been a biased issue incorporated by a government system that discriminate on people who look a certain way or have been classified as a suspect. One would think individuals and agencies responsible for enforcing laws supposed to maintain public order and public safety. Instead to an extent individuals who think they are privileged and above the law have taken it upon themselves to target people for suspicion of crime by creating a profile
The definition of racial profiling is prejudging someone by their ethnicity or racial profile based on the stereotypes that an ethnic group may carry. Racial profiling acknowledgement in America has grown rapidly over time and has really been on the rise since the September 11, 2001 bombings of the Twin Towers in New York City and of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.
It is no surprise that most of America’s black, hispanic and other minority populations do not trust the criminal justice system. There is little debate on the fact that the system is racially biased. The facts are undeniable.
Racial Profiling is wrong, and stereotyping certain races as having a greater propensity to commit crimes should be prohibited.
Judging people because of their race has always been a problem in society. A lot of people have to face the consequences of others being raciest and unfair in many ways. Racial profiling can be a problem caused by the environment that people grew up in, which is causing lack of jobs because they get associated with crime and others having insecurities about themselves. There are many other consequences that occur every day because of racial profiling that many people don’t acknowledge.
Racial Profiling has been around for many decades, but over the past few years it has gotten even worse. It has gotten to the point where children are supposed to be the most comfortable and open. Also, it has gotten to the point where even children's sports games are having a racial issue. Children shouldn’t feel like outsiders, just because of the color of their skin. Lastly, they shouldn’t they should stop doing what they love the most just because someone out there is making a racial or racist statement.
Racial Profiling is a typical concern and a continuing problem in the United States. What does it mean? From the American Civil Liberties Union, racial profiling - “refers to the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin.” However, it is not only law enforcement officials under racial profiling problems, it is involved with all citizens determining of profiling an individual because of their ethnicity. This being illegal is still a national problem that concerns all citizens of a different race or ethnicity. The iron triangle can be used in the systematic solution to be a helpful tool and the problem with racial profiling.
There has always been racial profiling in our history. The problem here is that at some point the ones who are oppressed and discriminated sooner o later will claim why they are treated unequally. There are many examples around the world, but one only has to take a look at how the American society has been designed to realize the great difference between individuals. It was even normal and acceptable to see these differences during the creation of this nation because the ones who supposedly had the power and knowledge of conquering made sure to create a huge division between leaders and subordinates.
Racial profiling has always been around, and it really got its start in the early years of the United States. Before the Civil War there were normal citizens that had to be on “Slave Patrol”, where they would have to go to homes of the slaves and do illegal things that searching for things, take people away, and even beat these people (Harris). This is around the time the white supremacist group, the KKK, was formed which lead to more racial profiling. Racial profiling was still around while there were the Jim Crow Laws in the 60s but then in the 1980s is when law enforcement got more attention for racial profiling and the problems that it was causing and why they were happening.
Racial grouping and categories can be effective and not effective. In the article “Racial Formation in the United States” by Michael Omi and Howard Winant they discuss their views of racial groups in the U.S and their effectiveness on people. In the article “How Jews Became White Folks and What That Says about Race in America” by Karen Brodkin she discusses how in the past time Jews were considered something other than white, but now they are considered as very much white. Brodkin’s article supports Omi and Winant by addressing the same issues in a more detailed and specific way, they both talk about these racial categories and how it affects
Racial Profiling occurs in every region of the world. Everybody will judge you based on your race and ethnicity. Racial profiling happens in our daily life, just like in the film “Us Against the World”. The film showed how the people from Knott County did not accept the players from Cordia since they came from another place and people were against them because of their race. Racial profiling is a huge problem in our society and we should treat everybody equally. Racial profiling affects our everyday life by showing how different people are being judged base on their background, skin tone, race and ethnicity.
“Racial profiling occurs when a police officer selectively focuses on a person’s race where the harass, detain, or arrest the individual”(Cooper,2001). Racial profiling is a serious issue that has gone rampant in the united states today; people being scared to do everyday activities because of their race is terrorizing and they culprits should be look at as terrorist. The government system is not set up to benefit the minorities, the iron triangle is a connection of groups that are placed to try and benefit the people, but sometimes they only benefit themselves and people alike. Aiding in racial profiling is an institutionalized form of terrorism and needs to be stopped at the source, and these are the steps we should take.
Federal agencies and Airline companies should not be allowed to remove people from a plane and detain them for their skin color, making this a wrongful practice of racial profiling. The American public forms and influences Iron Triangles into spreading their own beliefs that are then practiced within certain government agencies. Policies are then written and passed that allow such acts as this to be used on the general population. Shoshana Hebshi and two other men became victims of these acts while on a plane in 2013. These acts of discrimination can be changed only if the American public will stand up and force these Iron Triangles to push the Federal agencies and Airline companies to change their ways.
Racial profiling is a serious issue of social importance in the United States. It is the rights of people that have a comfortable life, and enjoy their freedoms. In a large country, the people are living together, working together, and helping each other . Doesn't matter that which skin are they, or which religion are they. The most important thing is Humanity. Racial profiling is a big barrier for the countries that they are in the way of advancement. It is a big deal that superpower countries want to stop it, and it is big problem for them. Sometimes the America people also face racial profiling. I believe there is racism still happening to black people and Muslim people. Racial profiling is an unfavorable thing, and it can be a huge problem lead to a scuffle and law enforcement should work to stop racism forever in the whole world.