Victims Of The American Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice system plays an important role in this society, it is meant to protect and serve. This “system” is also meant to maintain the peace and enforce the laws set by the government. However, the criminal justice system is not even close to perfect. It has many flaws, some of which are: police brutality, death penalty, mass incarceration, gun violence, and especially wrongful convictions. A majority of the flaws that the system has can be easily fixed and can be set straight. For example, the issue of wrongful convictions has been relevant for quite some time and has the potential to decrease its probability of occurring by focusing on the importance of scientific evidence, rid of faulty witness testimonies, and make sure that the lack of evidence and/or government misconduct, if applicable, does not determine the outcome of the case.

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).

Since the beginning of time, the United States’ Criminal Justice System (CJS) has been scrutinized and will continue to be. If significant changes were to occur within the CJS it could potentially take decades. Different persons, institutions, governments, and even departments within governments have different views; it is a natural occurrence. Thus, as with any subject matter, there are always controversies that cause disruption within society. Often, the controversies stem from the lack of understanding and the historical patterns of unsupported data.

In the wake of the incidents that gave birth to the “black lives matter movement”, I feel compelled to base my paper on the Criminal Justice System, the history and current state, and reform that are needed to overhaul and transform the system into a rehabilitative and redemptive program. In light of this, the case of Ronald cotton caught my attention, a case that sheds light on all aspects of the system, and also exemplifies the principles of strength and resilience. On January 18, 1985, Ronald Cotton was sentenced to life in prison plus fifty years (Thompson-Cannino, Cotton, & Torneo, 2009). An innocent man’s life changed on that day, this does not minimize the fact that a woman was raped and violated and she picked the wrong guy in the lineup. This young man turned himself in, confident he had nothing to hide, but his world was shattered when he walked into the trap of fitting a profile of a lineup, he walked into a “Harsh and heavy-handed tactics” (Walters, Clark, Gingerich, & Meltzer, 2007) which the criminal justice system is notorious for by “treating offenders as subhuman entities that need punishment to change”, this method of processing and handling of criminals has been applauded by those who live by the creed “crime and punishment”. (Saleebey & Clark p.123). Therefore, delivering punishment via the criminal justice system in the United States is a truly complex social act in need of sweeping reform (Saleebey & Clark p.125).

“Wrongful convictions happen every week in every state in this country. And they happen for all the same reasons. Sloppy police work. Eyewitness identification is the most- is the worst type almost. Because it is wrong about half the time. Think about that.” (Grisham). Wrongful convictions can happen to anyone, at anytime. Grisham implies wrongful convictions happen for the same reasons, careless police work as well as eyewitness identification. An eyewitness identification is a crucial aspect in detective work because it essentially locates the person at the crime scene. This is the worst cause of wrongful convictions because it is wrong half the time.

One hundred and sixty-six exonerations took place in 2016, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, setting a new record (“Exonerations 2016” 3). Indeed, misconvictions are now seen as part of the normal judicial process(“Exonerations 2016” 17). However, why are there so many mistakes in convicting individuals? One of the largest causes may be biases within the courts. Implicit bias in the American judicial system may seriously impact the underprivileged in receiving impartial verdicts in the legal system and access to quality lawyers.

Do you know someone who is serving time for s crime they did not commit? Have you wondered how a system has failed the very people it was designed to serve and protect? The American judicial system has a prolonged record of wrongful conviction dating back centuries ago. Wrongful convictions is when a person, who in actuality is innocent yet have been sentenced by a jury or other official courtroom. This misguided thinking by the system brought about individuals being executed by deadly injection. African Americans are more likely to be wrongfully convicted than Caucasians in murder, sexual assault and drug related cases. Dating back from 1989 to mid-October of 2016 of the 1,900 wrongful convictions documented, 47% involved in the exoneration

The U.S. Department of Justice is responsible for enforcing federal laws and administrating justice systems in the United States. However, the U.S. Department of Justice has a criminal justice system that is not fair for everyone in the country, specifically for those who are mentally ill, or poor. Over the past couple of years in the United States, there have been many innocent people wrongfully convicted and put on death row due to the corruption of the government. The main factor that has been identify as the cause of wrongful convictions is eyewitness misidentification. The Bedau and Radelet’s study demostrates that there are around 350 wrongful convictions in capital cases. Many abolitionists have arisen against capital punishments, since the exponential increase of exonerations based on DNA or non-DNA evidence. Their goal is to improve the current methods performed by our criminal justice system. The U.S. Department of Justice has acknowledged that its current criminal justice system is not being very effective in punishing the guilty. Since there have been many cases of wrongful convictions, many people are starting to question what has been the improvements that the U.S. Department of Justice has make in order to prevent false imprisonment and death penalty of innocent people. The Department of Justice has tried to decrease the number of inmates who were wrongly put on death row by improving prosecutorial accountability, by researching past criminal cases, and by

Since 1923, when Judge Learned Hand said that the American judicial system “has always been haunted by the ghost of the innocent man convicted,” the issue of wrongful conviction has been acknowledged to man (Halstead, 1992; Huff, Rattner, Sagarin, & MacNamara, 1986). After the judge made his innocuous statements, serious study of this phenomenon began. Contrary to the statement the judge made, time and technology have revealed that an unquantifiable number of wrongfully convicted persons have served prison terms and even been executed for crimes they did not commit and some that did not even occur. Research into wrongful conviction was virtually nonexistent until Professor Edward Brochard of Yale University published his book Convicting the Innocent in 1932. This book documented 65 such cases, addressed the legal causes of miscarriage, and offered suggestions to reform. Subsequently, numerous other researchers began conducting case studies and publishing findings that affirmed that wrongful conviction represents a systematic problem within the American judicial process (Huff, 2002).

According to the Ohio Research team, about 10,000 innocent people are wrongfully convicted (3). Wrongful convictions is a phrase that is used to describe someone who is jailed or punished for a crime that he or she did not commit. Our justice system today is criticized for having many defects and is one that is known to have a dark history of this. Recently, there has been a lot of controversy involving today’s American justice system. It has even gotten to a point where numerous groups and organizations have been made public, such as the Black Lives Matter organization. So many people have been wrongfully punished for crimes they did not commit which is the reason people all across America today still protest for the innocent people who have

Although the criminal justice system prides itself on keeping criminals locked up, approximately 10,000 innocent people are convicted each year (Kyle and Pippa’s presentation). There are several factors that enable an innocent person to be wrongfully convicted of a crime, including mistaken witness identity, false accusations, false evidence, and official misconduct. For example, in Mario’s Story, one witness incorrectly identified Mario as being one of the shooters and there was no further evidence against his case. Furthermore, his attorney did not conduct a proper investigation and Mario did not get his right to adequate legal counsel. Additionally, aggravating factors such as low socioeconomic status, unemployment, being argumentative in

Being accused of a crime is one thing, but being wrongfully convicted of the crime is another. In fact, according to a research done by a National Geographic journalist, Virginia Hughes, about 4.1 percent prisoners convicted were wrongfully imprisoned. The justice system in modern society has its own flaws that can impact the outcome of whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty. It is a reality that the legal system faces and that we draw our attention to details why it failed on some people. Wrongful conviction is the occurrence of an innocent defendant who goes to a trial and is found guilty due to different circumstances. The people of the jury and the people behind the investigation of a case can lead to such convictions. In

Outline and explain the three key goals victims can pursue through the criminal justice system.

Examples of cases were this program can be applied to where there is an innocent victim of a violent crime, suffers personal injuries and/ or serious mental or emotional trauma as a result of the crime. It is also applied in cases where a person witnessed or was threatened with a crime or suffered serious mental or emotional trauma. Other incidents it's applied to be a parent or legal guardian of a minor victim, or the parent or legal guardian of a minor victim and you lost wages or support due to victimization. Another example of a case is when the victim is the surviving spouse, parent, grandparent, sibling or child of a homicide victim and/ or if the victim were legally dependent on support from a deceased crime victim. In addition, if

Every year, thousands of immigrants are victims of criminal activity. Significant factors that contribute to this violence, never to be reported are language barrier, fear of deportation, cultural differences, and fears of the unfamiliar. In 2000 the Congress passed a law known as the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act. (Victims of criminal activity, n.d.). The U.S. Congress created this law as a form of immigration relief that is available aliens who are victims. The Congress wanted to aid law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting human trafficking by providing a way for alien victims to remain in the U.S. to assist in an investigation. Through the whole process the victim is working very closely with an officer. Victims