To be fair in the Justice system, the case must be looked at as though the jurors have no connection to the people who are being tried. The evidence must be presented as race and religion does not play affect the verdict. The verdict must be based on all of the evidence and should not reflect how much the lawyers costs or how well known they are. When someone looks at cases fairly, they will easily be able to tell that many innocent people were obviously wrongly convicted, and even worse many malevolent people were not punished for the crimes that they committed. This is a often result of racist and sexist judgements. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Tom Robinson, a black man is put on trial, and though he was obviously innocent
What are the rules by which one must treat another human being? The two most important rules are justice and fairness. By definition, justice is the act of rewarding the good and punishing the bad , while fairness is treatment without discrimination. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, an innocent man is tried, and because of his race, is determined guilty. In an utopian society, freedom and justice stand side by side. In the town of Maycomb Alabama however, cases that include racism and prejudice occur every day. However, these people are seen in the eyes of Atticus, Scout, and Jem as innocent “mockingbirds” who benefit the lives of others. There are many people in the world who take justice and fairness to heart, and treat
Unfair Trials are mostly caused by biases and mistakes of the judges and jury. Judges may judge differently because of someone's skin color and how they look and treat them differently in the case. “A prior opinion, the judge's bias may prevent him from fairly overseeing the trial.” Judges can make mistakes in the trial and sometimes make it unfair. “Research shows that mistakes in the criminal justice system are more common than we like to think and that our personal biases play a disturbingly strong role.” The jury might side on one
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.
“Justice is the opposite of arbitrariness. It requires that where two cases are relevantly alike, they should be treated in the same way.”- Justinian (Miller, 1.3). A study conducted by the National Registry of Exonerations found that African Americans are falsely convicted of murder up to seven times more than that of Caucasian Americans (Gross, p.4). Statistics such as the one stated above expose the U.S Justice System for the racist system it is. One solution to help prevent racism in the U.S justice system is to correct racial discrimination in the jury pool. Although juries are created to give unbiased court decisions, racial discrimination and profiling still is extremely prevalent; to solve this problem, the jury pool selection process should be required to incorporate a specific percent of African Americans in strict relation to population demographics of the area the trial is taking place.
You brought up how jurors are more likely to find a defendant guilty when the defendant is a different race, and the victim is the same race as the juror, which creates a problem if race is being viewed as a primary factor in the case. Unfortunately, as we know, racial disparities are apparent throughout every phase of our justice system. For example, black individuals are three times as likely to have their cars searched by the police compared to their white counterparts, in addition to being more likely to be pulled over (Racial disparities, 2014). On a larger scale, racial disparities in sentencing decisions are also imposed much more harshly for black individuals than white individuals in the United States. Furthermore, black males in the
One of the reasons that the U.S. justice system is flawed is because there are often racial divides within the jury. The O.J. Simpson murder trial is a perfect example of this. Of the 12 jurors, only two jurors were white. The other ten jurors were either black or biracial. As Jeffrey Toobin states in his book The Run of His Life, “Caucasians.. Say I can’t vote him not guilty..because I want to walk back into a life, Blacks … say I can’t vote him guilty...because I want to walk back into a life.” How could a man be not guilty when there is a, “1 in 170 million(chance) that the blood came from anyone other than Simpson”? The evidence alone should have proved him guilty, but the jurors were brainwashed. As Toobin explains, “race had trumped gender” as the main bias in court cases.
Do you believe that a person who values fairness and reciprocity will always follow the law? Atticus from to kill a mockingbird follows the law because he values fairness and reciprocity. It is clear that Atticus values fairness and reciprocity because he is willing to defend Tom Robinson, he risks his life to stop Tom Robinson from being lynched, and he want’s Jem to go to trial for the murder of Bob Ewell.
Through the study this term of the central text, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and related texts, films Rabbit Proof Fence by Phillip Noyce and In the Name of the Father by Jim Sheridan, my understanding of the concept of justice, or what constitutes justice, has altered considerably. We all think we know what justice is, or what it should be. In Australian colloquial terms, it is the principle of a “fair go” for everyone. In a perfect world, everyone is treated fairly. No-one is subjected to discrimination on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, sex or disability. But the reality is that the world we inhabit is far from perfect, human beings are by their very natures
There are many examples of injustice that exist in our world. Harper Lee in her novel, To Kill A Mockingbird reveals injustice in her novel. Through the novel there are three main ideas about how the main characters deal with injustice that are, One must use their own conscience regardless of social norms, represent those who don't have a voice or one that is a minority, and that change does not come easily. The author develops the idea that the individual must stand up to injustice to demonstrate awareness of their own morals and values that can transcend conformity.
The life of a family in 1930’s, with judgement and injustice causing conflicts. A family of 3 and a innocent man living in Maycomb, Alabama face discrimination and judgement, as justice not being served to a harmed girl. As things are different during the Great Depression, people view and believe certain things based off race, which leads to people being judged. Demonstrating people being treated unfairly. Such as discrimination because of people's skin color, stereotypes in the 1930’s, what people of color can say or do.
The book To Kill A Mockingbird is a book that describes a family with struggles; this book shows a good situation of justice versus injustice. In To Kill A Mockingbird justice is displayed when Boo Radley kills Bob Ewell; Injustice is exhibited when Bob Ewell attempts to kill Jem and Scout.The most prevalent is the injustice the because this leads to why Boo Radley kills Bob Ewell.
Social Justice, defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is “Justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities and privileges within a society.” The human survival and the progression of society, heavily relies on the ability to stand up for the rights and freedoms of others- being an advocate for change and an advocate for social justice. This essay with primarily discus Social Justice through advocacy and younger generations perceptions of the world, focusing on the text ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee and the pocket film ‘And So It Should Be’ by Tara Campbell. Overall, exploring the theme of how social justice is essential to human survival and the progression of society.
Injustice- Tom Robinson- Onomatopoeia- Infamy- Avert- Brine Tom Robinson is the perfect example for the theme Injustice. He is found guilty of a crime he did not commit. Surprisingly, it was his compassionate and kind nature that put him as risk for this accusation. He did not portray any bitterness about his situation on the stand or let them see the brine (word power) of his tears.
Prejudice refers to development of preconceived opinions on the basis of unfounded reasons such as superstition or racial bias. Oftentimes, prejudice induces baseless assumptions concerning a person's motives, resulting in unjust ultimatums. This is one of the most prominent themes featured in “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Nelle Harper Lee. Ubiquitously throughout the novel, it can be observed through the sense of injustice elicited through the main characters’ perceptions of the hypocrisy and overt prejudice riddling society, collectively overruling their moralistic judgment. Those who remain unique to the conventional behavioural expectations of the small, compartmentalized, narrow-minded town of Maycomb appear to experience the most injustice
To Kill a Mockingbird: The Prevalent Existence of Injustice The 1930’s Great Depression was a national economic recession that not only brought upon corruption for society but also brought to light the brutality of discrimination. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, is based in the 1930s Southern Alabama, about a young girl and her family living everyday only to witness the extreme prejudice and racism in their town. The author explores many themes; in particular, she demonstrates how many innocent people can be victims of injustice. Harper Lee’s novel conveys the preconceived notions held by the society of Maycomb, and how they create an environment in which the characters Atticus Finch, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are