West Memphis Three Injustice

On the 2nd of March 1998, a 10 year-old boy, LMW, was charged with the manslaughter of Corey Davis, a 6 year-old boy. Corey Davis was drowned in the Georges River when the defendant, LMW, dropped him in with what was thought to be the complete knowledge that the victim was unable to swim.

In Missouri during 1993, Christopher Simmons, a 17-year old, committed capital murder after he instigated two other juveniles (Benjamin and Tessmer) to conspire to kidnap and murder an innocent woman named Shirley Crook. It was never completely determined why exactly Simmons wished to murder Crook, however, he did later admit that Crook was involved in a previous car accident with Simmons. At approximately 2 a.m. on the night of the murder, Simmons and his two friends met up to break into the home of Crook, but Tessmer left before Simmons and Benjamin decided to go through with the heinous crime. Simmons and Benjamin broke into the home of Crook, entered her room, covered her eyes and mouth using duct tape, and bound her hands together. The

Within the criminal justice system, officials abuse their power. The officials of the justice system have a duty to protect and perform their duties with unbiased decision making. The abuse of power jeopardizes people’s lives who are not able to sustain oneself and their families. Some people do not understand that poorer people find themselves in jail more and once a person is released, that person is subjected to return to jail for the amount of money owed to the state. There are many obstacles for the poor, especially those of color. People of color are treated unfairly in the justice system, from the arrest, the sentencing, and the release. The criminal justice system is supposed to be just but that is not the case. The criminal justice system allows for the police, public defenders, and judges to bend the laws and not be punished for their actions or that apologizes can fix the wrong that has been done. This paper will discuss the abuse of power from the justice system and the solutions to rectify the damages.

As I witnessed the videos and sound recordings of the police killings of these Black youth: Trayvon Martin, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and Darnisha Harris, I, too, lost hope for racial equality and developed a fear of law enforcement that still exists to this day. These emotions are quite common amongst Black youth, yet the presence of such is

The Justice system seeks to prevent crimes and to capture those who have committed crimes. But what are the causes of crime, maybe poverty, or greed, or is sometimes caused by the system. Is the risk worth the reward and is reward the worth risking the punishment? Power and influence is threaded deeply into the Criminal Justice System. Are all offenders caught and processed with the same demeanor and given the same punishment? The system needs to be impartial to all offenders regardless of the offender’s social position, job or yearly income. The general punishment for most crimes is incarceration in most states with a difference in duration to adjust per each crime. This is the deterrent against crime. This is what should be keeping

The criminal justice system used today is to follow principles that protect and establish equality for all and while the United States criminal justice system may strive to follow these right of the people, but unfortunately, this is where the system falls short of fundamental American principles. Repeatedly the criminal justice system does the adverse of what it’s supposed to do. It does not protect the many liberties the people should have. Some may argue that the criminal justice system is indeed fair for

The memory of incidents such as O. J. Simpson’s high profile criminal trial, the assault of Rodney King in Los Angeles in 1992, and the 2009 arrest and charging of Harvard Professor Henry Gates for racial profiling still freshly linger in the minds of many Americans. The people’s perceptions of justice in these situations continue to represent how the criminal justice system is viewed in present times, and continue defining racial disparity in America (Mauer, 2011).

African American males are overrepresented in the criminal justice and many times are subject to harsher sentences than their Caucasian counterparts. African American males also experience racial profiling and have more negative interactions than any other population in the United States. Ibie, Obie, and Obiyan states, “African Americans have continued to be the repository for American crime and to be treated as amalgamation of presumed group trait rather than as individuals”. This topic is important because African American adolescents are less likely to be referred to rehabilitation or diversion programs and more likely to be sent to juvenile and/or prison. History has not been kind to African Americans and the injustices experienced by African Americans in the criminal justice system is extremely high. According to Weatherspoon, “The Supreme Court condoned and perpetuated many of the present day stereotypical biases concerning African Americans in the landmark decision of Dred Scott v. Sanford”. Over that past few years, with the advent of social media, the world is becoming more aware of the injustices and brutality suffered by African American males in the justice system. Many view this as a new phenomenon, but others know this abuse has always occurred, it is just now there are cameras taping the violence. Many people are waking up to what is occurring, but there are many others who are denial and who refuse to acknowledge the oppression and racism

Almost every day, we hear about justice being served upon criminals and we, as a society, feel a sense of relief that another threat to the public has been sentenced to a term in prison, where they will no longer pose a risk to the world at large. However, there are very rare occasions where the integrity of the justice system gets skewed and people who should not have been convicted are made to serve heavy prison sentences. When word of this judicial misstep reaches the public, there is social outcry, and we begin to question the judicial system for committing such a serious faux pas.

For the past 50 years, America’s criminal justice system has encountered several significant changes dealing with courts and policing. According to Marion and Oliver (2006), the historical Supreme Court rulings like Mapp v. Ohio and Miranda v. Arizona mold the way courts and law enforcement handle individuals charged with committing crimes. This paper will discuss the evolution of courts and law enforcement reflects the diverse and changing need for today’s population which is first importance, the urgency for cooperation and communication among criminal justice agencies and law enforcement within the country. Individuals must

There was no evidence collected and tested at the crime scene which could have proved who committed the murders. A lieutenant who contacted a juvenile officer in Memphis both agreed that the murders had to have been done by someone in a cult. The juvenile officer quickly knew of someone who was involved in a cult and said this juvenile could be capable of a crime like this. The accused, Damien Echols, was immediately interviewed and asked questions that the police believed no one but the killer would know the answers to. The answers that were given by Damien Echols were known answers throughout the community and this made Damien look guilty. Damien’s appearance was very strange and different and he was not considered “normal” in the communities beliefs. He was considered guilty by his Wiccan beliefs and his gothic appearance. Not only was Damien deemed guilty of this crime, but two other boys were also accused of these murders. There are many inconsistencies with the case. The police did not collect all evidence in the woods that could have been collected to possibly link the murders to someone. According to TruTV Crime Library, there was a boy who claimed he saw who committed the murders. He claimed he even saw men who spoke Spanish commit the murders. He later changed his story and said he saw one of the victim’s fathers killing the three boys. This same boy could not even identify two of the boys

Q1: With regards to the serious flaws in the police investigation of the West Memphis Three, the police investigation was heavily militarized as the cops were inconsistent. They did not focus on the guilty or innocent. Instead, the police concentration was on the enforcement practices and neglects the deep implications. During the police investigation, the police would not chase up any pieces of evidence that could implicate someone else in the crime other than those who already conducted some form of crime or were arrested in the past. This is displayed prominently when the police refused to further pursue the blood evidence found on the knife, who was previously owned by John Mark Byers. This is because if the police misrepresent a crime or are exposed for making mistakes such as apprehending innocents they could easily lose the public's opinions in police protection.

As humans, we believe in myths that the police, or anyone working for the justice system, will say the truth. This is a given, since they work for the justice system. Nevertheless, the Serial podcast hosted by Sarah Koenig questions this criminal justice system people whole heartedly trust. Serial is about a 1999 case where a Muslim teenage boy, Adnan Syed, is convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee – 17-year-old Korean teenager. I have listened to the Serial podcast and took a significant amount of interest toward it. However, when I continued to listen to the podcast, I could clearly see that throughout Adnan’s trial and the investigation process, there were many flaws in the justice system. This has confirmed the criminal justice system to be flawed and ineffective, which is seen through the defense, investigation team, as well as the prosecution.

Next we should contemplate the question of who is to decide what actions are just vs. unjust. In today's society the most significant proponent of justice would be our criminal justice system. This system produces just as much justice as it does injustice. Many people would argue with about this point. We are supposed to trust the people and the system we have chosen to represent our society. They are responsible for keeping society safe and for punishing those who do harm. Yet in recent years we

The criminal justice system is a group of institutions that work together to protect a society, prevent and control crime, and maintain justice; enforcing the laws regulated by society. As the years have gone by and society has evolved; so have the criminal justice system and its methods to accomplish its role in society. This short analysis will evaluate the main facts that have been affecting the criminal justice system for decades and have influenced the evolution the justice system is enduring in a changing society (Muraski, 2009). Amongst the changes in the system, we will discuss the effect the changes have had on the citizens and how their perceptions have evolved as well.