Ross V Beutel

Racial injustice against people of colour is an immense, ongoing issue that has not only targeted lives but has also taken many innocent lives. In America, these racial divisions date back to the days of slavery, where black people were denied of their basic human rights because of discrimination. In present day, some individuals view America as a post-racial environment, due to such victories as electing a black president; but the brutal, fatal and unjust events in Ferguson, Missouri prove that these divisions are still present. On August 9th, 2014, an unarmed, 18 year old black teen was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. The events that led to the death of Michael Brown occurred on an early morning where Mr. Wilson stopped Michael Brown and a friend after leaving a convenience store. An altercation occurred which prompted Mr. Brown to flee and officer Wilson to begin shooting. The death of Mr. Brown caused the city to stand up against police brutality through peaceful protest, looting, and even violence, to gain justice for Mr. Brown and his family. As the protests grew, the police used military tactics such as, tear gas, to “maintain order” during the unrest of the city. In recent, news the grand jury decided that Officer Darren Wilson was not responsible for the death of Michael Brown, which led to a larger public outrage not only in America, but also across the

August 9th 2014, Ferguson Missouri, an unarmed black teen Michael Brown was shot, and fatally wounded by a white police officer by the name of Darren Wilson. As a direct result of deciding not to indict Officer Wilson, the black community was out raged! Riots, looting, and damage to businesses soon followed the judge’s ruling. The trial was unlike normal trials which were treated with more expedience in the process, the grand jury in Officer Wilson case met for three months and 25 days. (Buchanan, et. al. 2014)

“In Newark, New Jersey, on the night of June 14, 2008, two youths aged 15 and 13 were riding in a car driven by their football coach, Kelvin Lamar James. All were African American. Newark police officers stopped their car in the rain, pulled the three out, and held them at gunpoint while the car was searched. James stated that the search violated his rights. One officer replied in abusive language that the three African Americans didn’t have rights and that the police "had no rules." The search of the car found no contraband, only football equipment” (civilrights.org, 2011).

“A decade ago, Hempstead’s only full-time black police officer sued, alleging that Chief Smith had dismissed him on a trumped-up charge after he complained about his supervisor’s racial slurs. An African-American couple also sued, alleging that Chief Smith had turned them away when they reported that a white man had assaulted

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.

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.

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).

During the early nineteen hundreds many people especially in the south were often convicted of crimes for no other reason than their skin color and contrary to many ideas about our court system, we have not always been the most honest and unbiased people. One prime example of this is the case of the Scottsboro Boys and how they were accused of rape and had to go to court numerous times, almost everytime ending in the death sentence. The evidence in the case clearly points towards the innocence of the Scottsboro boys, evidence such as unclear stories from the girls, lack of bruises and marks indicating assault as well as a previous history of prostitution from both of the girls. This evidence helps to prove that Charles Weems and the Scottsboro boys were innocent and wrongly accused and convicted.

With no amount of proof, the police believed the girls accusations simply because they were white and the boys were black. The newspaper headlines read: “ALL NEGROES POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED BY GIRLS AND ONE WHITE BOY WHO WAS HELD PRISONER WITH PISTOL AND KNIVES WHILE NINE BLACK FIENDS COMMITTED REVOLTING CRIME.” This article highlights how brutal the people were towards the boys. Another example of the horrendous racism is when the only lawyers given to the boys, were the worst lawyers in town. The court decided that the boys were worth so little that they would give them the lawyers that hadn’t won a case in decades. Despite having no real evidence, no real witnesses or a case at all. Over the course of the two decades eight out of the nine boys were sentenced to death, the last, youngest boy was sentenced to a life in

A father tells his child to get inside quickly when a black teenager is casually walking with a couple of racially diverse teenagers and the father tells them to “move a little faster thugs” or “keep on walking, no crack or dope here,” emphasizing “dope,” “thugs,” or “crack.” The teenagers hurry from the assertiveness of the father’s voice. This is just one example of a stereotypical racial profiling situation, defined as prohibiting the use of race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion in all law enforcement cases.

One of the major and most well known cases of racial profiling is the case of Amadou Diallo. Four white officers members of the anti street crime unit fired 41 shots at Diallo hitting him 19 times. The officers contended that they fired in self defense. On Feb 4, 1999, after Diallo,22, reached for an object they thought was a gun while he was standing in the vestibule of his apartment. The object turned out to be his wallet. All four officers were charged with second-degree murder as suspended from there jobs. The officers said that Diallo darted into the entrance of his building and took a combat stance. He pulled out what they perceived as a weapon and opened fire on him. The officers contended that Diallo's death was a tragic case of self-defense. The officers were found not guilty on all charges. Diallo was just another black man that fit the profile of a drug dealer simply because he was black. In the case of Alton White, this similar situation occurred, fortunately for him he was not shot and was set free. He and three other black men were humiliated by being accused of being connected to a crime that they didn't even fit the description of the two Hispanic men. "Everything from being handcuffed strip-searched, taken in and out of questioning, to be told that they knew exactly who I was and my responsibility to the show and the in fact they knew

In an ideal society, there would be equal protection under the law in this diverse America. However, other factors get in the way and Lady Justice is not always blind. Poor judgment of a few individuals can lead the

Our past is full of cases that represent the inequality of the criminal justice system. In the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case of Plessy V Ferguson, in 1896 the court upheld racial segregation and made the separate but equal the standard doctrine of the United States until 1954, when the Supreme Court handed down the decision in Brown v Board of Education which made the racial segregation illegal and highlighted the protections offered in the fourteenth amendment as it relates to equal protection. Despite the 14th Amendment 's promise of life and liberty under the law, this group of Americans found themselves subject to another law, known as the "Jim Crow Laws." These were a group of laws passed primarily in the southern states during reconstruction and lasting until around 1965, were established to make sure that the whites were treated differently than the blacks, in everyday life, including the criminal justice system. Even though the Jim Crow era has passed by, we unfortunately have come to the conclusion that we have just entered a new era of Jim Crow. “We are arguably no longer under Jim Crow or de jure discrimination; however, unfortunately and regrettably, we are presently realizing manifest de facto discrimination, or the new Jim Crow” (Durrant, 2015). Statistics show that over 40 percent of students who are expelled from school today are African American and over 70 percent of students who are referred to law enforcement for criminal activity are

Almost every member of the black community in Maycomb County is admirable in their personalities and innocent in their nature, and this generalisation makes the crimes against the black community all the worse. Tom Robinson, a man discriminated and accused of a crime that he didn’t commit has come forth to the justice system. The color of his skin determines everything from his background too if he’s guilty or not. A black man’s life is unable to prove innocence because of his race. Poverty has affected many people back in the 1960’s but, if a black man or women were to experience this they would be put on the white

Being the only black male on the case, I decided to do as my attorney advised. But once the judge made his decision everything that was guaranteed to me went out the window, and I was sentenced to three years in prison while my co-defendants walked away with a slap on the wrist. My co-defendants had paid attorneys who made sure they would get probation only, while my court appointed attorney did the minimum for me. My co-defendants were white females whose family was well known in the city (Davis 2013)”. The investigator asked Davis if he felt that he was being discriminated against, and if so why? The response that was received was, “Yes, and because everyone on the case including the attorneys and judge were white (Davis 2013)”. Although the information obtained from Davis is just a mere opinion of his, this is just an example of how some minorities are treated when they can’t afford an attorney, and live in the South, or along the Bible Belt. And being that the investigator is from the South, she has also seen firsthand how attorneys do the less work possible when they are appointed to represent you by a judge.