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History of the U.S. Criminal Justice System
The history of the U.S. criminal justice system spans approximately four hundred years, with early beginnings that prioritized the protection of citizens, punishment of criminals, and maintenance of social order. Perhaps the earliest form of criminal justice in the U.S. includes the night watch patrols in Boston in 1636 (Randall & Vasiliev, 2017). These groups or individuals would often require the help of a professional constable in looking out for danger and warning citizens. The first uniform laws became prominent after drafting the Constitution throughout the 17th century, which changed the influence of certain regional, state-level, or colony codes and legal procedures. This is possibly the earliest example of the ways in which the more powerful and wealthy had sway over legal procedures than those from the middle, lower-class, or impoverished backgrounds. Prior to the introduction of jails and prisons, holding cells were the only form of imprisonment and existed only to hold criminals awaiting trials. Previous punishments included cruel physical torture, fines, or execution.
Rehabilitation also emerged as prison became more prevalent within the U.S. However, the reformation tactics mostly included complete isolation, hard work under fear of punishment, and Biblical studies, which were more damaging than rehabilitating prisoners. In the early 17th century, the first police department was founded in Boston though other states and major cities quickly followed. Race-based and discriminatory policies in the southern states would often falsely imprison African Americans in order to lease them to farms and other manufacturing industries. This form of corrupt and disparity-supporting method would continue until the second world war. Technological advancements such as fingerprint identification would become prevalent in convictions after a case in 1910 successfully linked a man to murder.
How the System Serves the Wealthy
Wealth and power also had tremendous legal repercussions on the relationships of the law and race. In the 18th century, slave patrols were commonly utilized to find runaways, contraband, and disallowed gatherings (Atkinson, 2018). This drew a stark legal divide between African Americans and white Americans, favoring the wealthier slave owners through official laws. The Bill of Rights was the primary definition of liberty in the U.S., and while it served all individuals in the nation, some of the amendments were obscure in nature and favorable towards those with capital. For instance, the bills included statements that required fines and bail to not be excessively high and forbade cruel and unusual punishment. It is likely that these components benefited the wealthy, who were able to provide disposable income as payment of bail or fines and avoid torture, inhuman punishments, and even death as a result of their crimes.
In the modern-day, the favoritism of the wealthy within courts continues to be present. The 1983 case of Raymond Dicks, who illegally traded insider information with clients, resulted in no conviction by a Supreme Court that would regularly decide not to reverse the convictions of poor defendants (Cohen, 2020). Though the 1960s made room for a court that advocated for the rights of those with much less income and supported welfare recipients and the provision of counsel in criminal cases, the trend has been in a rapid decline. The first emergence of this downward trajectory became apparent when Texas and a number of other states made the decision to spend more resources on districts with more wealthy and privileged children. This led to the increased loyalty of criminal courts to campaign contributors.
Annotated Bibliography
Atkinson, D. V. (2018). A Revolution of Values in the U.S. Criminal Justice System. CAP Magazine. Web.
The following article outlines the history and emergence of the prison and incarceration system within U.S. criminal law. Information regarding the classists and race-based is especially valuable as it outlines the lingering impacts of slavery and disparities towards African Americans that continue to be prevalent within the current U.S. legal system. The issue has an economic component, as the slave labor that occurred within prisons in prior centuries continues to be similarly utilized within current prison settings. As such, not only is the current system of criminal justice discriminatory but also rooted in the financial welfare of the wealthy.
Cohen, A. (2020).How the Supreme Court Favors the Rich and Powerful. Time Magazine. Web.
Within this article, the changes in the criminal legal system are outlined from the 1960s to the present. While the 1960s depicted certain leaning towards supporting the poor within legal predicaments, this trend has been on a decline. Early and ongoing choices made by the Supreme Court favor spending on wealthier areas and groups, convictions for the less wealthy, and the use of legal loopholes for defendants that are preferable to them, often relating to those that spend substantial resources on campaigns. This impacts the continuous divide between the impoverished and the wealthy within legal systems.
Randall, S. G., & Vasiliev, V. P. (2017). Controlling the Dangerous Classes: A History of Criminal Justice in America (3rd ed.). Waveland Press.
The following book offers a comprehensive summary of the emergence and formulation of the criminal justice system in the U.S. Early roots ascertain that legal proceedings were formed in local communities, states, or regions but were unified through the Constitution. However, it was such universal but non-specific policies that shaped the preference of the wealthy within the legal system of the nation. Further, while the prison system managed to limit the number of cruel punishments such as torture, mutilation, and death, it introduced a structure that made the poor and non-white individuals components of slave labor while the wealthy were able to afford bail.
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