Category: American Criminal Justice System

You and your father are visiting his fiancée and her son at their townhouse in Sanford, Florida. You decided to got to the corner store to get some snacks. It’s cold and raining outside so you put on your grey hoodie and put your hood on your head. You decide to walk to the store because it’s a short walk. While your walking you admire the houses as you pass them. You finally get to the store and buy your snacks. As your leaving the store, you notice a man watching you from his car. You get a little spooked so you decide to walk a little faster. As you speed walk you realize that the man is out his car and is now following you so you begin to run. You can hear him saying something in the distance but your to scared for it to comprehend. Your almost at your father’s fiancée’s house but your getting tired and start to slow down, allowing the man to catch up to you. He grabs you violently and tugs at your arm for you to come with him. You refuse and try to break free; pushing and scratching, doing anything you can to get away. When you finally break free and try to run from the strange man he proceeds to pull out a gun. You try putting your snacks in your pocket so you can put your hands up and BANG he fatally shoots you. In court the man was found not guilty in all counts because he claimed self- defense.

Parts of this story have become and reality for many innocent African Americans including, Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Mike Brown, in America. The murders of unarmed African Americans must be stopped. As an African American I shouldn’t have to worried on being killed by law enforcement solely because of the color of my skin. No mother should have to mourn the death of their child who was killed by someone whose job is to “protect and serve”. On top of that no murderer should receive little to no jail time for viciously murdering an innocent human being. In order to fix the problem that is racism in the criminal justice system anti-discrimination laws should be increased, there should be better anti-racism training and testing, and anti-racism should be taught in schools.

The anti-discrimination laws we have today are not adequate enough to stop racism in America. The 13th amendment abolished slavery in America. “Job description (excluding people from jobs because of their race). Outlawed at the national level in 1964.”,“Segregation (in schools, public places, sports, etc.). Public segregation was outlawed in 1965”, “Denial of voting rights (poll taxes, literacy tests, […]). This was outlawed in 1964, and again in the 1965 Voting Rights Act.” (Mosley, Albert) Today, “It is illegal under U.S. federal law to discriminate against an employee, either intentionally or through a disparate impact on account of race, color, religion sex(including pregnancy), national origin, age, disabilities or genetic information.” (L&E) These laws are not properly implicated therefore they are not followed or applied. This is why although it is outlawed we still see discrimination in America.

There should be better anti-racism training and testing in the law enforcement. “In July of 1917, there was one of the most brutal riots against African Americans there — scores and scores of white folks attacking blacks simply for being employed in wartime industries. There were indiscriminate attacks and, in effect, lynchings: beatings, hangings of black residents […][caused] very tense race relations between whites and blacks, and also between the police and the black community.” (Vox) Today, “structural racism might influence police violence against African Americans are Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Illinois, which register the highest on the state racism index, and have some of the highest rates of unarmed African Americans shot by police.” (Mock, Brentin) If law enforcement trains police anti-racism then there will be less deaths due to racism. Also if we can test officers to see if there racist then we can terminate them eliminating some of the bias and racist officers in the law enforcement.

Anti-racism should be taught in public schools. “Black students faced greater rates of suspension, expulsion and arrest than their white classmates, according to federal data.” (Washington Post) A bias school system basically breeds students into racism. It teaches students to treat people who look different from you differently, which is unfair. If we start with teaching anti-racism in public schools then as children grow up they will see racism and discrimination as taboo. It would create a better learning environment for all children, no matter race, class, or gender.

Some may say that if you look at racism in the criminal justice system as a whole there really isn’t any . Although many African Americans are incarcerated in America there are more white people overall. When the reality is although there are more whites incarcerated it’s only because there’s not that many African Americans in America to begin with. African Americans only make up 12.1% of America’s population and with most of them being incarcerated there’s even less on the streets.

Overall, to fix the problem that is racism in the criminal justice system anti-discrimination laws should be increased, there should be better anti-racism training and testing, and anti-racism should be taught in schools. Anti-discrimination laws would make racism illegal. Anti-racism testing and training will enforce those laws and teaching anti-racism in public schools will decrease the amount of racism and discrimination as a whole.

The United States of America, the “land of the free”, is not living up to its ideals of freedom. Our criminal justice system is unjust and discriminatory towards people of color and low socioeconomic status. They’re more likely to receive a death penalty sentence than a white person because race and finacial assets, unfortunately, are some of the determining factors of who gets the death penalty. It has turned into a system of oppression for the poor, defenseless, and falsely convicted. The injustices that occur in our criminal justice system aren’t being addressed. In Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson seeks to correct this societal wrong by championing for the rights of death penalty recipients; he appeals to pathos, demonstrating that although injustice is present in the criminal justice system and death penalty, justice and mercy can be obtained for those who are suffering in these unfair systems.

Stevenson draws attention to some of the flaws in the criminal justice system through the case of Walter McMillian, a young man who was given the death penalty for a murder he never committed. Walter was wrongfully accused of murdering Ronda Morrison by Ralph Myers. While Stevenson described the police’s detainment and abuse of Walter based off Ralph’s false testimony, he appealed to pathos to stimulate agitation and hope within his once clueless audience. Stevenson notes during his first visit with Walter’s family the conversation he had with Walter’s older sister, Armelia Hand. She stated, “…the police come along months later, say he killed somebody miles away at the same time we were standing next to him. Then they take him away when you know it’s a lie,” appealing to pathos by explaining the primary reason why Stevenson is heavily invested in Walter’s case (92). In spite of the fact that Walter was wrongly convicted and sent to death row, Stevenson refused to surrender without a fight and the grittiness he displayed in the whole process made Walter feel that there was someone who still cared about him in the criminal justice system. Stevenson never left Walter’s side and this allowed him to passionately pursue the vindication that Walter and his family were seeking despite opposition from the criminal justice system. This is an appeal to pathos as it describes the effects that Walter and his family went through; it was painful for both of them. Most people love their family members unconditionally and can imagine the anguish Walter’s family must have felt. Thanks to these examples, Stevenson appeals to family emotions and proposes that perseverance can go a long way towards achieving justice and mercy in the criminal justice system that is currently flawed.

Another displeasure that Stevenson voices about the criminal justice system is the ramifications of being sentenced to death row unfairly. An argument that can be seen as persuasive against the death penalty is the tedious process of establishing innocence and the toll it can take on someone’s body and/or mental health. Walter, for five years, endured multiple trials and hearings and was exposed to a deteriorating environment during his time on death row. It really affected him because he wasn’t the same person after the entire legal process. The appeal to pathos is made clear in the text when Bryan Stevenson observes Walter’s changed behavior by saying, ‘…He began drinking heavily, something he’d never done before. He told me that he was anxious all the time and that the alcohol calms his nerves’ (276). Obviously, time spent on death row had serious effects on Walter even though he ended up getting released and overturning the court’s original decision thanks to Stevenson’s legal representation. But, seeing as many never get the opportunity to leave, those still on death row are consistently being put through heavy trauma. By describing the side effects that Walter obtained from being on death row, Stevenson attempts to resonate with his audience’s sense of humanity in order to create sympathy for Walter’s unjustly dilemma through pathos. As a result, this leads to even more understanding as to why Stevenson is so committed to fighting for not just Walter, but people who have similar cases as well. Those who have been affected by wrong convictions personally or indirectly can relate to the difficulty and trauma that proving innocence can cause. Despite the hardship that criminal trials can produce, it is necessary to fight for justice because it can potentially save an innocent life. Stevenson realized this and it’s one of the reasons why he’s committed to defend the poor, voiceless, wrongly convicted, etc. Reading the book, as a result, causes Stevenson to be the protagonist of the novel and be cheered as a hero because it wasn’t morally right for Walter to be suffering through trauma that he should have never gone through. He was clearly innocent of the crime, but the justice system said otherwise.

Continuing on, Stevenson also points out that the death penalty racially profiles people of color. Poor and minority criminals are more likely to receive the death penalty than a white person because race, unfortunately, determines who gets the death penalty in the US. This is true because in the text, Bryan Stevenson writes, ‘We’re supposed to sentence people fairly after fully considering their life circumstances, but instead we exploit the inability of the poor to get the legal assistance they need–all so we can kill them with less resistance’ (287). The legal systems we currently have in place leave many gaps for racial and social discrimination. Though many don’t carry the same prejudice that was popular even 50 years ago, the context of many laws make it easy to target minorities and the poor who are most often subject to adversity and distanced from privilege. An example of this could be seen with Walter McMillian and Jimmy Dill. Walter’s family raised money to hire two Selma lawyers and they did this through church donations and pawning their possessions. Their attempt to release Walter from death row wasn’t successful, however. Stevenson also decided to take on the case of Jimmy Dill everyone was poor on Alabama’s death row The poor are the ones who usually suffer from a lack of finances

Another memorable scene, argument, dialogue, or fact included in Just Mercy is the incarceration rate statistics. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world because Stevenson writes, ‘The prison population has increased from 300,000 people in the early 1970s to 2.3 million people today’ (15). The sad part about this fact is that kids are included in the prison population consensus. Some states prosecute children as adults, and we’re the only country in the world who does this. The US Criminal Justice System should be ashamed of itself. They’d rather focus on making money by incarcerating as many people as they can instead of seeking justice for the innocent, poor, oppressed, and defenseless. Unfortunately, jails are seen as profitable investments and until they’re no longer viewed this way, our Criminal Justice System will be more humane and just.

Introduction to Injustice in the Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice system is an important component within the government to enforce the laws, the courts and the corrections to succeed in achieving social order. Without the justice system, problems regarding the law can heighten. Without the system, citizens will be living in a lawless chaos. Despite the obvious need for the justice system, there has been occasions where it has failed to accomplish its main goal. I say this not because they don’t get the job done, it is because of the way they perceive themselves to the public and some of their actions. Their actions have caused an uproar regarding whether or not their practices are just. I believe that the criminal justice system is unjust because of the racial discrimination, their inability to address women in need of help and the mistreatment of the mentally ill.

Racial Discrimination Embedded in the Justice System

Racism within the criminal justice system is evident. Racism has always been a huge problem in America. Racial discrimination has literally been embedded into our history, something we sadly can’t erase. Though racism is a negative connotation, we are still able to learn from it and grow from our mistakes. Yet, even in the newer generation, racism still exists and is unfortunately ingrained in our justice system. In the novel, “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson, he writes, “ Fear and anger can make us vindictive and abusive, unjust and unfair until we all suffer from the absence of mercy and we condemn ourselves as much as we victimize others.” (Stevenson 18). The stereotypes among all races have the ability to ignite anger and fear within anyone. People’s inability to see the moral and ethical sides of the situation leads them to make irrational decisions. This greatly applies to the justice system. This quote gives us the reason for why we should empathize and why we should have mercy on others. Yet, we continue to stray further away from the right ways. This causes our justice system to be corrupt, where the people are unable to trust the ones we should. We mistreat one another for any reason, whether it be the way we are, our way of life, or the color of our skin. We all deserve justice and mercy. Especially when one is wrongly accused of a crime or hasn’t even done the crime deserve the punishment given. Other than wrongly accusing people, there have been instances where people of different races in for the same crime yet, one of them receives a longer sentence.

The Disparity in Sentencing Among Different Races

In William Quigley’s “Racism: the crime in criminal justice”, he states “The U.S. Sentencing Commission reported in March of 2010 that in the federal system African-American offenders receive sentences that are 10% to 23% longer than white offenders for the same crimes.” This is a perfect example of getting their job done, but the way they execute their practices is questionable. I can understand that there are many factors to why someone’s sentence can lengthen, such as their background, behaviors etc. but, giving an inmate a longer sentence than another when they both have done the same crime is unfair. The question is, why? Why should the sentencing differ when they both commit the same exact crime? How is that just? It’s not. The justice system is infamous for its ill-treatment against people of color. Inaddition to being racially bias, the justice system is unable to address serious matters relating to women victim sexual assault.

Neglect and Abuse of Women within the System

There are moments where the justice system fails to explore the crimes against women. Discrimination and violence against women is an issue that we’ve all come to know and acknowledge. Throughout history, women have been seen as the inferior and this type of mindset has lead women to be treated quite poorly. Despite societies, never-ending quest for gender equality, the misdemeanors concerning women is still apparent today, especially towards the women who are locked up. In the book, “Just Mercy”, Stevenson states, “Women at Tutwiler were being raped by prison guards. Women were being sexually harassed, exploited, abused and assaulted by male officers in countless ways. The male warden allowed the male guards entry into the showers during prison counts.” (Stevenson 238) Yes, these women may or may have not done their crimes and are in prison to serve as a punishment, but they are undeserving of this kind of treatment. It is bad enough that they are imprisoned but, now they are faced with more challenges. As a guard, your job is to enforce the rules within the prison, not to take advantage of the inmates for your own twisted desire. Furthermore, the male warden nonchalantly allowing the officers to just do what they want is unethical. Other than the wrongdoing against the women locked up, they’re also known for their inaccurate service to the women outside the cells.

The System’s Failure to Adequately Address Sexual Assault

Society’s discussion regarding rape has been an ongoing thing and we all are fully aware of the damages it has on a victim. In spite of the knowledge opposed to rape, the justice system has taken this issue too lightly. As reported by Vicki Vonpi in “Young women’s experiences with reporting sexual assault to police”, she states, “According to the young women, the most commonly cited reason given by police for not charging was that there was not enough evidence to establish a sexual assault had occurred. From the survivors’ understanding, either no reason or other reasons were given: she was to blame for letting the perpetrators in her house; the police had more important matters with which to deal; the perpetrator was 12 years old and therefore too young to charge.” Now, just because the police decided not to charge the perpetrator for the crime, it does not mean the assault didn’t occur. The reason why it wasn’t taken further into consideration was because of the lack of evidence the police were able to compile. In this quote, it is apparent that the police don’t treat each case the same. The women’s assault has to hit a certain standard to have her case taken seriously, which seems very cruel. Though there are some cases in which a woman, for whatever reason, falsely accuses a man for raping her doesn’t change the fact that each case should be held at the same standard. Having the police choose which case is much more valuable has survivors thinking that their hardships and what they just went through mean nothing. From blaming the victim for the unfortunate circumstance to the police letting it slip from their mind because there was something much more “important”, the police has continued to let it be known to the world their inability to address the real problem.

This makes the justice seem corrupt and unable to uphold their purpose, to serve their citizens who need justice. The exploitation in relation to the mentally ill is just as bad as the violation towards women.

Mistreatment of the Mentally Ill in Criminal Justice

The mentally ill are mistreated in the justice system. The mentally ill are being treated as though they are up to the same standards as people who are not. We acknowledge the fact that people that are mentally ill are in need of special treatment due to their conditions. Yet, the justice systems ignore these conditions and continue to treat the mentally ill incorrectly. According to Stevenson, “I argued to the judge that not taking Avery’s mental health issues into consideration at trial was as cruel as saying to someone who has lost his legs, “You must climb these stairs with no assistance, and if you don’t your just lazy.” Or to say to someone who was blind, “You should get across this busy interstate highway, unaided, or you’re just cowardly.” (Stevenson 199) Over the years, society has developed a stigma against people with mental illness. The stigma associated with mental illness can be divided into two categories. The one relating to Avery would be a social stigma, where others have prejudiced attitudes against people with mental illnesses. Others are against people with such illnesses because they don’t understand it and believe that it isn’t as important. They are unaware of what they prejudice acts and dehumanizing actions can do to an individual with these types of complications. Pushing aside their needs because they believed that it isn’t as serious as a physical illness. In addition to the serious stigma and misunderstanding towards the mentally ill, there are other cases where people in similar circumstances are treated wrongly. In C. Joseph Boatwright’s Solving the Problem of Criminalizing the Mentally Ill: the Miami Model, he explains, “On any given day there are 360,000 people with severe mental illnesses in jails and prisons throughout the country and over 760,000 people with severe mental illnesses are on community control or probation.

(18) People with mental illnesses are on probation or parole two to four times longer than that of the general population on community control or probation.” Going back to the lighting one’s sentencing, people who are in need of trained professionals should not be holed up on prisons. I understand that to most, people who have such conditions can be seen as dangerous but with the right medical attention, these problems can be easily avoided. But, keeping them locked up longer than needed and not giving them the correct medications and treat men can cause consequences for the mental ills. They need to be let go and be put into care with people who are able to help them. The justice system needs to be more considerate on how they treat their inmates, yes these are people who have done unethical things, but they should be at least treated as humans. Due to their acts towards people of the mentally ill, the justice system in unjust.

Keeping them there for longer can cause more damage than good. Though we have grown a fair amount in society, we tend to let our judgments shadow over our logical thinking. We’ve been taught not to judge others, yet at times we still fail to realize that people are different. Despite those differences, it doesn’t give us the right to have someone else feel inferior. The unjust acts within the justice system exist and through their desire to cover it up or ignore the problem just further shows their ignorance. Through the mistreat of people of a certain race, victims of sexual assault and people who are mentally unstable the justice system makes themselves look weak and corrupt. The people we are taught to trust weren’t able to achieve their main purpose. They’re needs to be change in the justice, but before we do that we need to open up the eyes of others. Social order is what keeps our society harmonious, but the people’s desire to keep it lawful gives it justice.

Cite Page:

1. Quigley, and William P. “Racism: The Crime in Criminal Justice.” ​By Jikun Huang, Ruifa
2. Hu, Scott Rozelle, Fangbin Qiao, Carl E. Pray :: SSRN​, 11 Dec. 2012, papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2187456.
3. “Solving the Problem of Criminalizing the Mentally Ill: The Miami Model.” ​Student Handbook of Academic Policies​, www.law.georgetown.edu/american-criminal-law-review/in-print/volume-56-number-1-winter-2019/solving-the-problem-of-criminalizing-the-mentally-ill-the-miami-model/.
4. Vicki Vonpi. “Young Women’s Experiences with Reporting Sexual Assault to Police.” 2006, www.yorku.ca/cwscf/.

We call it prison but in reality its modern-day slavery. There are many Americans who are incarcerated every day whether they are wrongfully accused or not. Some do not even have the possibility of obtaining freedom again. The United States has a high incarceration rate with over two million people behind bars (Sawyer, Wendy). The courts have had many cases where they wrongly convicted individuals, therefore they were forced to serve time. After being sentenced some inmates are sent to prison facilities where they have poor living conditions, and punished for the rest of their lives, even after time served, the punishment never ends.

Every day more and more people are being falsely accused than ever before. The number of exonerations has hit its all-time high in America, with over three exonerations per week more than double the rate in 2011 (Barone, Emily). The majority of people being exonerated are black men. There are many reasons people are wrongfully convicted such as false accusations and misconduct of evidence by the police or prosecutors. Most unjust cases involve African Americans who are racially profiled. Brian Banks was a seventeen-year-old football star accused of sexual assault, Brian was forced to take a plea bargain serving five years in prison and five years of probation. It could be years later before the court realizes that the offender may be innocent and it took ten years for the court to factually prove Brian Banks innocent. Our criminal court system has been proven to be based on plea bargains and racial bias towards African Americans. A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor and defendant agrees to plead guilty in return for a lesser time sentence than the one offered.

The system wants us to believe that the prison system is a rehabilitation facility to help those that have committed or accused crime but shows us otherwise. History has been written in a way you think the country has changed but there are other laws in place now that can be viewed as a replacement for slavery. Racism can be proven by the actions of the people who have the authority of the prisoners. Kalief Browder was a sixteen-year-old boy who was accused of stealing a backpack. Browder was sent to Rikers Island prison to serve time for a crime he did not commit. Kalief Browder did not accept any plea deals because he knew he was innocent. He spent three years on the island and two of those years in solitary confinement where he was beaten by guards, and went days with no food. The living conditions inmates are facing are horrible. American prisons and jails can be the most dangerous places. Rates of prisoner-on-prisoner violence have roughly doubled in the state over the past five years, with a homicide rate eight times the national average (Ford, Matt). In December all Mississippi State Prisons went on lockdown because of rising prison violence at three prison facilities. Five Mississippi inmates were killed in a week, and two are believed to be missing (lati, Marisa). Sunflower county coroner Heather Burton stated, “Every time the phone rings at this point, it’s another one’. Today most prison violence is gang-related, inmates are forced to join gangs for protection because it could be dangerous to be alone. Corrections officers tend to abuse their authority and use excessive force on inmates and persuade them to commit a crime on each other, leaving them to suffer. They restrict inmates from the appropriate medical assistance which leads to health problems.

Being held in a prison facility looking at the same four walls every day, eating the same food and only getting a few hours of sunlight can cause anxiety, depression and schizophrenia disorders. Prison may be the cause of some disorders but some inmates enter the jail challenging their disorders and it gets worse over time. Around 1.25 million prisoners suffer from mental illness (Dugger, Ashley). Inmates that suffer from such disorders do not get the appropriate care while serving time or awaiting trial. Without the appropriate care, it leads inmates to harm themselves or other inmates. Americans once believed that after serving time in a prison facility life would be normal and everything would be great with second opportunities. When Ex-convicts are released they face several obstacles returning into society, such as finding a place to live and a job. Most jobs don’t accept felons or even people with a criminal background. It’s difficult for them to adapt to the world again when they spent years in a prison facility. The society even puts a toll on ex-convicts titling them as rapist or sex offenders. Research has proven within three years of being released 67.8% of ex-cons are rearrested and within five years 76.6% are rearrested (Staff, Simmons). As stated before Kalief Browder was sixteen years old when he was arrested and released when he was twenty-two from Rikers Island State Penitentiary. After being released he faced depression while adapting to the environment and flashbacks from his abuse while in prison. Browder tried to commit suicide serval times but did not go through with it until June 2015 Browder committed suicide by hanging himself with an air conditioner cord.

The criminal court system belittles individuals and takes their freedom away and expects them to return to the real world as a whole person. Even though history makes us think the system has changed it has not changed at all. Many Americans are being wrongly accused because of false accusations and serving time for crimes they did not commit. The prison facilities then dehumanize them and treat them with cruel and unusual punishments. These are only some of the challenges prisoners face while being incarcerated.

The Prison Litigation Reform Act is a U.S. federal law that was enacted in 1996. Congress executed this act in response to a significant increase in prisoner litigation in the federal courts. It is just one fix for the inadequacy of our justice system that many states and the federal government have delved into. Reports have shown that for every 100,000 people living in the U.S, about 655 individuals are behind bars. Since 1978, the increase has been around 390%. If we take a look in another recent report, it demonstrated the current strategies used by our justice system to achieve rehabilitation and increased public safety have been very much ineffective, with more than 80% of those leaving our state prisons being rearrested again in the future. Here’s where the prison reform act comes to action. For many decades there have been unnumerous numbers of mass imprisonments in this country that have sent African-Americans and Latinos to prison in significantly disproportionate rates. Furthermore, there are also millions of formerly imprisoned people who are treated like slaves after their release from prison and face a hard time to maintain a normal life, like they are some second-class citizens. Even in modern times events like this still tend to occur because of a loophole in the 13th amendment of the US constitution, more precisely because of the exception clause of this particular amendment. This clause apparently justifies treating the prison inmates as slaves if they have been “duly convicted” of a crime. There is a 2016 documentary by Ava DuVernay named ’13th’ which shines a bright light on this very issue that has been going on in our country. The documentary’s focus is on slavery and to what degree it plays a role in modern times. It shows how slavery never went away and how mass imprisonments are the main reason behind today’s slavery. Prison reform act is supposed to solve this big issue and it supports the movement to eliminate the 13th Amendment exception clause.

Any kind of positive changes regarding prison reform can usually be accomplished through two categories. Number one is establishing programs that will help individuals to gain knowledge, skills, job training, and positive values during their period of imprisonment. Secondly, modifying disciplinary policies which will ensure that minimal boundaries are there to maintain positive community affiliations during the period of confinement. So in other words, if the inmates get proper opportunities to achieve some particular beneficial skills and use them to enhance their positive relationships, we will be able to help them carry out their full potential and in the long run, they will get the chance to transform their lives and eventually return to our communities.

However, prison reform comes with some handfull of challenges. First of all, one huge debate regarding prison reform is whether it is resulted in reducing the number of people who are rearrested. Usually, after being released from prison, people who were imprisoned face a large number of barriers when they make an attempt to return to their communities and or try to do something with their life. Along with the societal stigma these people face, there are more than 48,000 legal barriers that prevent them from securing employment, housing, occupational licenses, and many of the essential things that are necessary to be a productive member of any community. Some reports that came to light recently shows that even after a whole year, 74% of men released from prison are still searching for employment. Just like that, many of these complications create a threat to public safety and prevent those people with a criminal background from achieving a better future. Moreover, the reforms proposed in the First Step Act will affect only the federal prison system, which houses just 181,000 of the approximately 2.1 million total incarcerated population including state prisons and jails.

Gene Sharp was the founder of the Albert Einstein Institution who put together 198 methods of nonviolent action. These are the steps that people are advised to use in their campaigns. The whole point of this list is to implement nonviolent methods whenever a movement is needed to be formed. We just have to be careful and precise when we identify the needs and goals of our target audience as well as our opponent. In many cases, it has been seen that people who are not aware of the effectiveness of nonviolent actions always tend to be struggling for democratic rights and justice. A campaign’s chances of success depend on three main points; wise strategy, attention to the dynamics of nonviolent struggle, and thoughtful selection of methods.

Now if we look into modern times, the impact of nonviolent methods on any kind of activism has been more crucial. This is one of the most compelling and influential times to live in; whenever we want to send a message or try to express ourselves, it can be done in a very short time, to be precise in a matter of minutes. A single video can span the globe in a matter of days, blessings of present-day internet. And these kinds of nonviolent actions can really make the ultimate difference in a movement. It’s true that every so often, we become so overwhelmed with the internet, mainly because of the constant violations of privacy and the filtering of information but the fact is if we can do it right by implementing the right plan, we will be able to influence millions with a simple nonviolent act. This was just an example. Similar to this, a large number of additional methods have already been used but yet to be classified. Not only that, it is fair to assume that in the future more additional methods will be invented accommodating the characteristics of the three classes of methods: nonviolent protest and persuasion, noncooperation and nonviolent intervention.

Now, regarding nonviolent civil disobedience, we have to realize that considerable effectiveness is achievable when individual methods to be used are chosen to implement the previously adopted strategy. It is necessary to know what kind of pressure we should be using before we choose the precise forms of action that will best apply those pressures.

Today, the list of undemocratic governments forced out by ‘people power’ mutinies are so far-reaching that conventional knowledge about nonviolent conflict may well have reversed: one might argue that nonviolent action can be effective in challenging autocracies but holds little value in places where disagreement can be channeled through lobbying and electoral politics. The burden is now for activists to show how the same types of tactics can be used in any kind of nonviolent movement.

Justin Bieber has committed crimes but gotten away easy. He was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and while underage, but released from jail the following day–even though he was arrested on a $2,500 bond. Authorities found marijuana and Xanax in Bieber’s system, yet he still pleaded not guilty to all charges. Also, Bieber was charged for egging one of his neighbors in Los Angeles that resulted in $20,000 in damages for the owner. He paid the damages and ended up having probation. However, if the same person had been poor and were a minority, he or she would have received harsher punishment. This is because of the inherent inequalities in the American justice system. The major factors that contribute to these inequalities are money, race and the existing jury system.

One factor that plays an important role in the unfair treatment of the rich and the poor is money. The rich can buy the best lawyers whereas the poor rely on public defenders. For instance, the OJ Simpson case was famous because he was able to get away from murder charges. According to ‘Encyclopedia Britannica’ OJ Simpson, a former college and professional football star, was seen at the murder scene of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman on the night of June 12, 1994. They were stabbed to death and the police spotted Simpson they believe, attempting to escape from the scene of the crime. He was placed under arrest and taken into custody. On July 22, 1994, he pleaded not guilty and got away with possible murder because of his ‘Dream Team’ of lawyers. The ‘Dream Team’ of lawyers were, Robert Shapiro. Johnnie Cochran, Robert Kardashian, F. Lee Bailey, Alan Dershowitz, Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld, Gerald F. Uelmen, Robert Blasier, Carl Douglas, and Shawn Chapmen Holley. Shapiro was responsible for building the dream team and led the defense team through the trial. Cochran made it clear about the glove at the murder scene that it did not match with OJ Simpson’s hand. In his closing statement he says the famous phrase, “if it doesn’t fit, you must acquit”. A close friend of Simpson, Kardashian took care of talking to the media and hide Simpson away in his house. Bailey handled many of the defense team’s press conferences. His cross-examination of LAPD investigator Mark Fuhrman made Fuhrman plead the Fifth in response to aspects of the case, including the planted evidence. In return, undermined Fuhrman’s credibility as a witness. Scheck and Neufeld assisted with undermining the prosecution’s DNA and forensic evidence. Unlike Simpson, most poor defendants do not have the money to buy good counsel. They have to rely on court-appointed public defenders to plead their case. These public defenders do not have the time or money to invest in their cases. For example, in the article, ‘This Innocent Man Pleaded Guilty to a Crime He Didn’t Commit’, the author, Antoine Goldet explains how poor defendants are forced to plead guilty even if they did not commit a crime. He gives an example of this by telling the story of how Rodney Roberts was sent to jail. In the summer of 1996, Rodney Roberts pleaded guilty to a kidnapping. Although he never met the victim nor conflict violence on her, he was forced to plead guilty and serve life in prison because his court-appointed defender advised him for his aggravated sexual assault to be dropped. He feared that if he did not plead guilty and set up for a trial then he would be sent away for decades. Poor defendants like these have to plea bargain because they cannot afford an attorney and have to get a court-appointed defender. Setting up a trial would be proven difficult without an attorney because the defendant would not have anything to back up their innocence. Invest factors such as an attorney, and money to pay for charges are unattainable for poor public defendants.

Besides, money being one of the factors in the unfair treatment of poor and minority groups, race plays a big part in the criminal justice system. Both judges and the police are guilty of racially profiling. In the article, ‘Black Men Sentenced to More Time for Committing the Exact Same Crime as a White Person’, the author, Christopher Ingraham, points out that judges are less likely to revise sentences downward for black offenders than for white ones. In other words, judges reduce black offenders’ sentences by tiny amounts than they would do for white ones. According to a Sentencing Commission’s report, the black and white sentencing disparities are now driven to having sentencing choices being made by judges at their discretion. And giving judges more discretion in sentencing allows more racial bias to seep into the criminal justice system. In addition to judges having a racial bias, police officers have a reputation for targeting the poor and other minority groups. This is because we often see blacks or other minority groups arrested more than those who are rich or white. In the article, ‘Black People More Likely to Be Stopped by Cops, Study Finds’, the author, Maggie Fox, points out that black people are more likely to pull over by police. Not saying that they are more likely to commit crimes but are more likely to be arrested once stopped. According to Fox, the study does not claim that police are unfairly targeting blacks, but recent popular online videos that show police brutality or wrong conviction towards blacks and other minority groups have shed some light on the issue. Social media platforms such as YouTube, have been showing policemen racial profiling Black people for potential violence. In the article, ‘Before Jordan Edwards, 8 Times Police Videos Showed the Real Story’, the author, Jennifer Emily, shows an example of police brutality by telling a story of a young boy named Jordan Edwards. In April 2017 in Balch Springs, a police officer fatally shot 15-year-old Jordan Edwards after he backed toward Balch Springs officers. A day later, after watching police body-camera footage, Chief Jonathan Haber said the car was driving the opposite direction of the cops when Officer Roy shot his rifle into the car and striking Jordan in the head. Officer Roy, now 38, was found guilty of murdering Jordan. Roy said, “That was solely on me. In a rush to get the information out, to be transparent… I missed a step”. The public would think it would be an accident, but this is just one example of police officers ‘mistakenly’ killing a black person. The justice system places too much faith in judges and the police to serve ‘justice’ that we believed to be fair and justified. Instead, we have a corrupted criminal justice system that allows racial discrimination to seep in.

Besides money and racial profiling, the jury system is another reason why poor and minority groups receive harsher punishment. The prosecutors’ strikeout jurors of black defendants. In the article, ‘Why Is It So Easy for Prosecutors to Strike Black Jurors?’ the author, Gildad Edelman, points out that race plays a role in jury selection. Timothy Tyrone Foster, a black man sentenced death by an all-white jury in 1987, claims that the prosecution ‘deliberately’ eliminated all four black jurors. Even though the state argued they eliminated the jurors because of their race, questionnaires where jurors had been asked to identify their race and labeled three black jurors ‘B#1’, ‘B#2’, and ‘B#3’ and even identified which juror to keep if they had to pick a black juror. According to Edelman, jury selection occurs in two steps. First, the judge would dismiss potential jurors if they can’t be impartial. Secondly, after questioning the remaining jurors, the defense and the prosecution each have several ‘peremptory strikes’ to take out any jurors to their disliking until there are twelve left. That poses a problem for the justice system that forbids all racial discrimination. The court has underestimated the prosecutor’s choice on how to pick and eliminate jurors.

Although the jury system can allow prosecutors to strike out black jurors, the jury system has proved to be the most successful way of dealing with justice. They lead racial bias out of the system, not judges. In the article, ‘Judges, Not Judges, Lead the Way Against Racial Bias in Our Justice System’, the author, Binna Kandola points in nearly 400,000 cases, the study found that juries were very consistent in their decision-making and disregarding the defendant of color. Kandola determines that there are two factors of having a successful jury system. One of the key features of the jury system is the instructions to focus on the evidence. It encourages people to be more accurate in their decisions which, in turn, reduces stereotyping. Another key feature of the jury system is the active debate, discussion, and challenge. Challenge and debate are some of the most effective ways of reducing racial bias, as we can reflect more on the data presented to us and use our proper judgment. Compared to judges and magistrates, they are do not usually engage in this type of constructive discussion. Their decisions are not thought off well constructively therefore, creating more bias decisions to occur. Although the jury system has notable stories of success, in the actual perspective, things are different. Theoretically good that the jury system can eliminate racial bias, there’s still the differences of what kind of jury the prosecutors have chosen. An all-white jury is more likely to spend less time deliberating, and more likely to convict a minority defendant than jurors of different racial backgrounds. According to Gildad Edelman, having jurors of color in cases with a black defendant and a white victim can lower the chances of a death sentence. This poses a problem to the justice system and disregards all the equality rights we have fought for.

Today, there seems to be a lot of disparities between those who are a minority or poor and those who are white or rich in receiving punishments. Minority groups and the poor are receiving harsher punishment than those who are rich or white because of money, race and how the jury system allows prosecutors to strike out black jurors. Money is an important reason because when people do not have enough money, they will not be able to get the best lawyers to defend them. They would have to rely on public defenders who can’t help them. Racially profiling is another important reason because polices tend to stop and search black people and invoke violence. Lastly, the jury system is important because when the jury pool has a large white majority, they tend to give harsh punishments if the black defendant has harmed someone who is white. It is because of these reasons we see how unfair the criminal justice system is. It is clear today, that the criminal justice system is not what the Founding Fathers believed of having all men created equal. It means that everybody is the same, but not identical in appearance or skill. Overall, the criminal justice system is corrupted with no means of having a ‘fair trial’.

Bibliography

1. “Justin Bieber.” Crime Museum, Crime Museum, www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/celebrity-mugshots/justin-bieber/.
2. Fox, Maggie. “Black People More Likely to Be Stopped by Cops, Study Finds.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 26 July 2016, www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/black-people-more-likely-be-stopped-cops-study-finds-n616546.
3. Ingraham, Christopher. “Black Men Sentenced to More Time for Committing the Exact Same Crime as a White Person, Study Finds.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 29 Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/11/16/black-men-sentenced-to-more-time-for-committing-the-exact-same-crime-as-a-white-person-study-finds/.
4. Emily, Jennifer. “Before Jordan Edwards, 8 Times Police Videos Showed the Real Story.” Dallas News, Dallas News, 24 Aug. 2019, www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2018/08/28/before-jordan-edwards-8-times-police-videos-showed-the-real-story/.
5. Kandola, Binna. “Juries, Not Judges, Lead the Way against Racial Bias in Our Justice System I Binna Kandola.” The Guardian, Guardian News, and Media, 15 Sept. 2017, www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2017/sep/15/racial-bias-criminal-justice-system-lammy-review-magistrates-courts-jury.
6. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “O.J. Simpson Trial.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 9 July 2019, www.britannica.com/event/O-J-Simpson-trial.
7. Edelman, Gilad. “Why Is It So Easy for Prosecutors to Strike Black Jurors?” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 19 June 2017, www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/why-is-it-so-easy-for-prosecutors-to-strike-black-jurors.

The official crime statistics monitor crime and provides information on the ethnic distribution in the criminal justice system. These statistics are then used to identify whether fair treatment is displayed across the whole system. The concept of different ethnic groups being overrepresented in the criminal justice system is a commonly debated issue. The aim of this essay is to discuss this ongoing debate as to whether there is an over-representation of BAME (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnicity) groups across the criminal justice system, specifically focusing on the areas of stop and search, arrest, prosecutions and prisons, and BAME individuals as victims.

Paternoster and Bachman (2018) state that there is a frequent assumption that racial bias constantly reoccurs in the criminal justice system. Because of this assumption, statistics are a common method used by the government to monitor and identify negative relationships between crime and ethnicity. Home Office (2019) states that they place individuals into groups based on their ethnicity so that the data collected can easily be presented. Although the majority of individuals can have their ethnicity easily identified, a small percentage of between 2%-7% are classed as unknown and therefore are not included in the data. This percentage indicates that the ethnic categories provided prove to not accommodate for all (Home Office, 2018)

In addition, Anderson et al (2004) had also identified an inconsistency that occurs through the use of ethnicity grouping which can also make the grouping data unreliable. This is because individuals can self-select their race, meaning they may view themselves as being a certain race. In contrast, other people may perceive that person as being a different race, known as an observer-selected race. So, due to the potential uncertainty of some individual’s race, the ethnic grouping can therefore lack reliability due to the difference in how individuals perceive themselves compared to how others view them.

When examining the total population of England and Wales, which is said to be around 56.1 million, a percentage of each ethnic group can be established. Those of white ethnicity make up 86% of the population, compared to Asian ethnicity at 7.5%, black ethnicity at 3.3%, mixed ethnicity at 2.2% and other ethnic groups presenting as 1% (Office for National Statistics (2019a) the different ethnic group percentages are lower compared to those of white ethnicity, a potential reason behind the possible dispute about the overrepresentation of BAME groups, could be due to different areas having a higher population of these groups, therefore, resulting in the higher statistics. Evidence provided by Office for National Statistics (2019b) provides support for this assumption as it established that in London alone, 40.2% of residents self-identified as being from a different ethnic group. So, in relation to the overrepresentation of BAME groups in London specifically, there is a 40.2% chance of the offender being of different ethnicity, therefore, increasing the likelihood of a particular ethnic group being involved in crime.

Stop and search is a necessary police procedure carried out by officers if they have reason to believe the individual in question has been involved in a crime or they believe that they are in possession of an illegal item, such as drugs. Across the United Kingdom, 43 police forces have a duty to record the ethnicity of the individuals they have stopped, to ensure the regularity of different ethnic groups being searched is not discriminatory (Mayor of London, 2018) However, the ongoing argument that BAME groups are continuously over-represented in stop and search statistics is supported by Lammy (cited in Dodd, 2017) who had revealed that the disproportionality that occurs within the criminal justice system begins through the policing method of stop and search, indicating potential corruption within the police. Statistical evidence, provided through various pieces of research, provides an indication that discriminatory stop and searches do occur. Home Office (2019) had identified that amongst ethnic groups, for every 1000 black people, 29 would be stopped and searched compared to a small number of 3 for every 1000 white people. The disproportionality amongst these statistics signifies that black people are overrepresented, due to the statistical results stating that they have a higher possibility of being stopped and searched, compared to those of white ethnicity. Additionally, Kalyan and Keeling (2019) stated that in the year ending March 2018, 282,248 searches were carried out, which decreased by 7% from the previous year. But, the stop and searches of white ethnicity were in favor of this slight decrease as searches fell by 13% compared to only 1% in the stops of BAME groups.

This statistical evidence provides a clear indication that different ethnic groups are experiencing discriminatory actions against them through the means of stop and search, therefore producing an overrepresentation of these groups. The Scarman report investigated the Brixton riots in 1981 and specifically identified that there was an overuse of stop and search powers against those of different ethnicity (Keeling, 2017) The recent data published has significant importance as it suggests that since the Scarman report in 1981, there has been no change in the way police use their stop and search powers and those of different ethnicity are still potentially incorrectly targeted. Black people in particular are identified within the statistics to be of high suspicion to the police.

According to Townsend (2018), those of black ethnicity are stopped and searched 8.4 times the rate of white individuals, a figure which has more than doubled since a well-known published report known as the Macpherson report. This report in particular declared that institutional racism occurs throughout the police. This claim is further supported by Walker and Archbold (2014) where they had also identified that the use of stop and search powers are unfair and discriminatory, which produces the perception of institutional racism. This, therefore, provides an explanation as to why there are higher levels of ethnic groups being searched. Keeling (2017) suggests that the stop and search powers can be highly traumatic and cause an isolating effect on those of different ethnicity, as three-quarters of BAME individuals believe that they are unfairly targeted resulting in them having a lack of trust with the police force. This perceived unfair treatment was investigated by the Macpherson report in 1999 and due to the previous findings in this report it can be proven that there is a continuous negative effect from stop and search due to perceived racism during the policing procedure (Kaylan and Keeling, 2019)

Leading on from stop and search, if the police suspicions turn out to be correct, this can lead to arrest. It can be argued that arrest statistics also show that there is an overrepresentation of BAME groups. According to Home Office (2018), arrest statistics show that those specifically of black ethnicity were three times more likely to be arrested compared to those of white ethnicity, the figures present that for every 1000 people, 38 arrests were made against black individuals compared to 26 arrests for mixed ethnicity individuals and 12 arrests for white individuals. These statistics suggest that there is a continuous issue with those of different ethnicity having an increasingly higher chance of being arrested. Haque (as cited in Bulman, 2017) suggested that the reason behind these significant-high arrest rates against those of black ethnicity are due to the discriminatory police practices since the perception that black individuals produce more criminal behavior.

Although, this statement of discriminatory practices taking place can be argued to be unreliable. According to Gase et al (2016), the hypothesis of minorities being overrepresented in the criminal justice system is somewhat true, however, the high rates are due to BAME individuals committing more crime, especially violent crime, compared to those of white ethnicity, rather than police discriminatory practices being used. This evidence originates from numerous studies examined by Gase et al (2016) stating that the cause of higher rates of arrest were due to violent crimes and drug offenses. Drug offenses in particular are seen to be a common factor in high arrest rates. Lammy (2017a) states that black adolescents are 10 times more likely to be arrested for drug offenses compared to white adolescents. Though some may commit these drug offenses, the disproportionality between black and white ethnicities can be recognized from the various statistics published, which suggests that particularly black ethnic groups are overrepresented within the system due to the increasing figures produced.

Another segment of the criminal justice system is the process of prosecuting an individual and placing them in prison. As well as stop and search and arrest statistics, both prosecution and prison statistics provide information that is associate with the perception of there being an overrepresentation of BAME groups. The Ministry of Justice (2018) identified that overall the number of defendants who were prosecuted for indictable offenses had decreased amongst all ethnic groups. However, black ethnic groups were found to have the smallest decrease of only 6% compared to other ethnic groups having a decrease of between 10-11%. Though there was a significant decrease, it can be argued that this source of information provides evidence that those of black ethnicity are still at a disadvantage. This is due to the slight decrease in prosecutions which can verify that they are experiencing higher possibilities of being prosecuted.

Similarly, Cuthbertson (2017) also examined the prosecution of individuals across all ethnicities. It was discovered that of those who were charged for indictable offenses, 63% were found to be guilty. This, therefore, shows that of those who were arrested and charged, a high percentage of them were found guilty so the perception of targeting certain races can be questioned. Alongside this, those of white ethnicity were more likely to be found guilty and sent to prison compared to those of different ethnicity. For example, when looking at the statistics of a violent crime against another person, the white ethnic group had a percentage of 47% conviction rate compared to black ethnicity and Asian ethnicity at 36% and mixed at 41% (Cuthbertson, 2017) These statistics imply that although there are figures representing the different ethnic groups, it can be admitted that there is not an overrepresentation of BAME groups but for white ethnicity, it appears there is an overrepresentation for them. This provides an example of racial disparity taking place in regard to prosecution, but however, it is in the opposite direction of the race.

Before the accused person of a crime stands trial, they are either held in custody or released on bail until their trial date. Racial discrimination can be viewed to have occurred through this type of process due to the ethnicity of the defendants who are placed in custody. Dobson (2018) found that predominantly black males were most likely to be remanded in custody compared to white and Asian groups which present potential racial bias. Regardless of this information, the conviction rates for different ethnic groups do not suggest racial bias to be occurring due to the percentages for BAME groups are significantly lower than those of white ethnicity. White defendants have continued to have a high overall prosecution rate at 86% compared to other ethnic groups at 81% (Dobson, 2018)

Once the defendant has been found guilty, their sentence may be found most appropriate to be carried out in prison A report published in 2014 known as The Young Review, examined the disproportionality within the prison system. The percentage of black and Asian ethnicity were specifically highlighted as 13.1% identified as black compared to 2.9% in the 2011 Census, and 13.4% identified as Asian compared to 4.2% in the same Census (Young, 2014) These findings from the report can be used today to identify whether there has been an increased or decreased change in the BAME population in prisons. In the United Kingdom today, the total of inmates in all United Kingdom prisons amounts to 82, 643 (Ministry of Justice, 2019)

Similar to The Young Review, a report published in 2017 known as The Lammy Review, had also examined the consistent perception that the criminal justice system imposes racial bias on those who are part of the BAME community, though changes to the statistics can be seen. Lammy, 2017 (cited in Cuthbertson, 2017) noted that BAME communities make up around 25% of prison populations however they are considered to still be overly represented. It was discovered that astonishingly among prisoners serving prison sentences for public order offenses, 417 offenders of black ethnicity and 631 of Asian ethnicity were placed in prison, for every 100 white offenders (Lammy, 2017b) These figures alone can suggest that there is an overrepresentation of different ethnic groups because of the substantial number of ethnic offenders in prison compared to white offenders. In comparison to The Young Review, it can be seen that the prison population of ethnic minorities have decreased by 1%, however, the concept of the BAME communities being overrepresented still remains.

Though the overrepresentation is clear, Cuthbertson (2017) highlighted that 66% of black people and 74% of Asian people believed that the criminal justice system and its proceedings were fair and effective, compared to 67% of white people. Therefore, the number of BAME individuals who are in prison can be suggested to be overrepresented as identified in certain offenses the number of BAME individuals are significantly higher. However, the percentages of agreement to the criminal justice system being fair, suggest that the overrepresentation shown is not the result of intentional racial bias within the system, but is in fact the result of higher numbers of BAME groups committing a crime (Gase et al, 2016)

Throughout society BAME communities are overrepresented in the criminal justice system in relation to committing a crime, however, is considered a victim is inadequately focused upon. Individuals of different ethnicity are more likely to be victims of crime compared to those of white ethnicity due to the areas in which they live- ethnic minorities are more likely to live in areas where time take place (Bulman, 2017) According to Office for National Statistics (2019) those of different ethnicity have higher percentages of crimes being inflicted against them. For example, those who have been identified as mixed ethnicity presented a percentage of 22% of being victims of crime, as well as 16% for Asians, 15% for black individuals and 14% for white people. This data shows that those of different ethnicity are subjected to being victims of crime rather than being the criminal themselves. These statistics can be supported by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (2018) which identified that in England, 44.8% of Asian people and 37.4% of black people, felt that within their homes and around their local area, they experienced fear and anxiety of being victims of crime, compared to 29.2% of white people. Acknowledged by Bulman (2017) those of different ethnicity who are victims of crime, a small portion of them also have fears to report crimes committed against them. This then indicates that the percentages of ethnic minorities being victims may not be reliable due to the lack of reporting, therefore suggesting that BAME communities are underrepresented in terms of being victims due to the figures being disproportionality low (Bulman, 2017)

Overall, through the examination of different areas of the criminal justice system, it can be agreed that there is an overrepresentation of BAME groups within the criminal justice system. This overrepresentation can be viewed as either intentional or unintentional, either way high statistical evidence can support this claim. In particular, arrest rates prove that the overrepresentation of BAME groups are occurring in this specific area due to the identification of higher rates of arrest among those of different ethnicity. Conversely, it has been identified that BAME groups can also be underrepresented when viewed as a victim. The percentages of ethnic minorities prove that each ethnic group has a fear of crime due to be a victim themselves, however, more research is recommended into this issue due to the data provided being minimal.

Within US borders a whole other world is hidden behind concrete and barbed wire. A place of violence and coercion. Drugs and crude weapons pervade its economy. This is an entire world behind bars. The criminal justice system has a way of trapping people in cages that result in a lifetime of obstacles that sabotage efforts at redemption. Society punishes those with criminal records long after they have finished their sentence. How have reform movements of the criminal justice system since the Gilded Age influence how the system is implemented today? To answer this question, we have to take a journey back to the reform movements during the Gilded Age, the effect it had on prison life, and how convicted criminals are viewed in society.

Decades after the Civil War Era, there have been many approaches to reform prisons. According to the American Correctional Association, in 1870 they held their first inaugural meeting in Cincinnati, where it articulated its support for rehabilitative penology; the study of the punishment of crime and prison management. Here the ACA published and presented the ‘Declaration of Principles’. The document directed prison administrators to implement indeterminate sentencing, moral training, industrial training, and educational programs. An article written by Fiona Doherty who attended Yale Law School published that one of the attendees was Enoch C. Wines, the secretary of the New York Prison Association. Wines proposed a system in which inmates were rewarded for their good behavior and released after they have been reformed. This is known as indeterminate sentencing. Defined by Cornell Law School a judge sentences the prisoner for a period of time, and a parole officer sets a release date within those limits based on factors of the criminal history and imprisonment behavior of the offender. Prisoners could now be released without completing their sentence and the unserved parts would become a testing period. When released if the convict behaved themselves, they would be allowed to stay in the community. If they did not, then they would go right back to jail. What resulted from indeterminate sentencing was the concept of parole.

Another person was Zebulon Brockway, who assisted in writing the Declaration. Brockway proposed a system that focused on providing education to prisoners as stated from an autobiography ‘Fifty Years of Prison Service’ by Brockway. In 1876, Brockway tested his ideas as the director of Elmira Reformatory in Elmira, New York. Inmates during the day would serve and receive education, and at night get vocational training. In his book he discussed a points system where inmates could get an early release if they accumulated enough points from either acquiring a technical skill or completing academic assignments. A dissertation by Anthony Grasso, an Assistant Professor of American Politics at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, NY discussed Brockway’s approach. Grasso noted that under Brockway’s supervision Elmira established education programs, indeterminate sentencing systems, and a marks system for good behavior. His system made it possible for prisoners to return to society.

A prison sentence is anything but luxurious. With conditions sometimes being as low as humane, there is a reason why they are considered dangerous. An example would be the Yuma Territorial Prison. Located in Yuma, Arizona this prison housed famous outlaws from the old west, including Elena Estrada. She was legendary for ripping her unfaithful partner’s heart out and throwing it in his face according to the Yuma Territorial Prison Museum. Yuma was constructed in 1876 and the first 7 prisoners built their own cells. Over its 33 years in operation, 3,069 prisoners, 29 of whom were women, were incarcerated here. Prisoners were transported here by train and their belongings were immediately confiscated. After they would be stripped of their clothes, bathed, and given a uniform. Next, they would be assigned a cell with 5 or 6 other inmates. On each side of the small cell, they would sleep on mattresses infested with bedbugs. On the other hand, the prisoners had access to schooling where they could learn how to read, write, and speak other languages. During their free time, they could make hand-crafted items that would be sold to the public. Despite having access to a variety of resources the inmates still called this place a ‘hell hole’. The people of Yuma referred to the prison as the ‘Country Club on the Colorado’. They were resentful that the prison had better amenities than most of their homes. Though it may have seemed luxurious, the prison was feared by inmates. It was described as, ‘impossible to endure, more impossible to escape’. Each cell was given one bucket for bathing and could bathe only once a week. Yuma had very strict rules and if broken you were taken to solitary confinement also known as ‘The Dark Cell’. The prisoner was locked in a 4-foot-high iron cage that was placed inside and would be stripped down to just their underwear. They were brought only bread and water once a day and light came only from a small ventilation shaft recorded by the museum. This prison was eventually shut down in 1909 due to overcrowding, and all inmates were moved to a new facility in Florence, Arizona. This is an example of how the old system looked and functioned, but today it is far different.

Since the Gilded Age, there have been massive prison reform movements that have impacted how prisons are run today. The structure of the system has improved, the function of prisons has enhanced, but it is still broken. There are people who have injustice prison sentences. Once a person has made contact with the system, they are prevented from growing and becoming truly free.

Racial inequality in the USA is a well-known topic, especially inequalities with the justice system and police officers being racially biased. On May 25, 2020, two police officers murdered an African American man named George Floyd. He was simply walking down the streets, doing nothing wrong. He was murdered solely because of his race and nothing else. A video of this happening quickly went viral everywhere on social media, sparking a new trending hashtag – #blacklivesmatter.

This tag quickly sparked protests around the country, and many were killed in the process because they protested equal rights and no racial profiling. Teargas and other fatal chemicals and methods were unleashed during these nationwide protests, which shows that these murders were no accidents and that the police were actively trying to injure or even kill people during the protests, using teargas, weapons, or even running people over in their cop cars.

This incident is one of many but it brought to many people’s attention, myself included, the severity of this issue and the fact that things like this still happen. Police officers falsely arrest or injure African Americans every day because they think that all people of that race are aggressive or criminals or some other horrible stereotype along those lines. I do not know what this is like whatsoever, but I do know that it should not be happening to anyone. Having to be scared of the people who swore to protect you, at routine traffic stops. Having them tell you to lower your voice even if you’re whispering, stop resisting even if you’re perfectly compliant. This needs to end.

There are many cases in the courtroom, where evidence was purposely ignored, overlooked, or even hidden, convicting innocent African Americans instead of looking at the facts. They look at whatever slight pieces of information indicate guilt and ignore the rest. Innocent people are left to rot in their prison cells because of their skin tones. To people of this race living in America, it is their daily lives. People who are not African American would never need to worry about these things because these cops or politicians have a target already who are taking the brunt of this for no reason or fault of their own at all.

Most cases of racial inequality are overlooked, but cases like that of George Floyd that get a lot of attention remind people that this still happens and that they should try and do something to fix it, which is one of the amazing parts about social media. Social media is helping bring people like racially biased police officers to justice more and more often. This makes it the best and easiest time to help and stop this. Hopefully, one day, racial profiling will be no more, but everyone needs to contribute if that is to ever happen. Simply spreading the word or educating those with racist opinions helps a lot because if the word isn’t spread and more people aren’t educated, there is no chance for racial profiling to end. Together we can stop this.

The core duty of the judicial system is always to deliver justice within the jurisdiction of the constitution and other existing laws of the land. By this, the judicial system has the mandate to ensure that those who break the law receive rightful punishment and the offended receive justice. The key needs of the victims, the offended,; anytime a crime has taken place is fair treatment and justice. The United States of America being a member state is the United Nations, there are various formulations made by the organization which is also effective in the country. Then United Nations Declaration of 1985 of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power classifies fair judgement and justice as the need for victims. The declaration provides basic formulations and privileges granted to a victim. Firstly, the declaration states that victims should always be treated with compassion and their dignity respected. This way, the victims are entitled to access all the possible justice mechanisms guided by the legislation of the country to address the harm that they have suffered. In the United States of America, the seeking of justice is always left for the states. The states have the mandate to ensure the victims get justice for the damages caused to them.

Victims in any crime are always in need of support and assistance. The reason why they need this support is for their recovery purposes. Many times, the victims of crimes are always left with the side effects of the activity, which when not given a timely response the results may be disastrous. Crime victims may need emotional and psychological assistance. Crimes such as murder interfere with the mental balance of the victims, which they may need support to overcome. One of the common mental imbalances after the crime that affects many victims is Post traumatic Stress Disorder. This condition might occur in victims in cases where they did not undergo depression treatment after the occurrence of the crime. Also, the victims might need support in terms of legal and financial assistance. At times, the victims might have the required capital and finances to seek justice. This evident where the victims are not in a position to raise the required amount of capital to hire a lawyer. Many times, this assistance is always offered by the state by giving the victims a state law to help them seek justice. Lastly, those victims whom the crime interfered with economically are always in need of financial support. For example, those whose businesses that were disrupted by crime are always in need of financial support so that they can make their business run again. There is a range of actors that can and should provide support, including in particular, actors within the criminal justice system, victim assistance services but also professionals from the health and education system and faith-based organizations.

Thirdly, victims are always in constant need of protection. The 1985 declaration by the United Nations calls for governments of different countries to implement measures and policies which are aimed at minimizing the inconvenience of victims in the judicial system. The declaration also calls for policies that will ensure that they privacy of the victims is protected and where applicable or necessary, the state should ensure their safety and that of their family members is protected. The victim’s experiences should always be treated with confidentiality.

In the Criminal Justice system, the judge can give a temporal judgment to a juvenile who has been found with an offense. Sometimes the court can give the juvenile a period of confinement before given probation or other lenient options. Although a juvenile can have a confinement period, they are not the same as those adult criminals who are being sentenced. The confinement can involve house arrest, or the judge can order the juvenile to spend some time in a detention center before given a probation period. In some severe offenses, the minor can be made to spend more time in an adult prison. Some judges are of the opinion that the penalties the juveniles can receive are to be taken through the rehabilitation process rather than being confined. Considering all these, there are collective and individual needs of all participants in the criminal justice system, like victims, offenders, and the community they need to be well known when seeking justice. However, the implementation of restorative and other approaches to justice in a culturally sensitive way needs to be considered. Furthermore, the value of Christian belief and practice for Criminal Justice needs to be discerned through the ethical consequences of decisions from the biblical perspective.

The individual and collective needs of all participants in the Criminal Justice System including the victims, offenders, and the community, are fundamental. The needs of these people can change over time. Some conditions exist immediately after the crime has been done, and others come long after the crime has been committed. The needs range from the rights like a right to respect and recognition and the right to protection. Other requirements include access to justice and fair treatment during the judgement, given assistance and support where necessary, and redressing the adverse effects of the offense in the form of restitution and compensation. The United Nations Declaration stated “that every participant in criminal justice should be treated with compassion and respect for their dignity” (Karstedt 2002, 299). The first essential of any participant is to be recognized. Human dignity is a fundamental right. Treating those who have committed an offense with compassion and respect is very important when ensuring that all the participants will have justice. It is essential that all participants are recognized and that their consequences out of their offenses are acknowledged.

The victims, offenders, and the community should be treated with dignity and respect in the process of handling any case either by the police or the criminal investigations department, legal professionals, judicial staff, or any other person who is involved in Criminal Justice. The procedures and the communications should be done in a sensitive way. Those interacting with the victims should do it with empathy and understanding of the individual of the group. A similar case should be done in which the victim should have the support and any other social service required. An excellent example of a disrespectful act is setting a trial date and time without consulting the offender whether it will be possible for her/him to attend. In addition, denying the victim privacy when doing an examination. Lastly, doing interrogation in the community in an inappropriate and blaming way. Respect is paramount, especially to vulnerable groups like children, sexual and gender-based violence victims, domestic violence victims, aged people, and people with disabilities.