Racial Discrimination In American Criminal Justice System - Research Paper Example

Racial Discrimination in the USA Criminal Justice System Abstract There have been accusations in the pickles domain as well as the academia about the racism in the US criminal justice system. On one hand, there is adequate proof about the racial differences and inequalities in the justice system, as can be witnessed in the rates of conviction among the difference races, especially the whites versus the African Americans. However, these do not mercenarily mean that there is racism in the criminal justice. There are various arguments and explanations which can be given for the same, since there are so many factors which can lead to such a discrepancy. One such explanation is that the reason that there are more convicted black people is that they are highly likely to commit crime than are their white Caucasian counterparts. Social factors and well as economic factors have also been cited as some of the factors which lead to the racial discrepancies in the criminal justice. Introduction The justice system in any country, much more in the most democratic nation on earth (USA) is set to provide justice to all at all time. Justice, all over the world, is considered to be blind, failing to see any differences in race, color, economic or social class etc. It is also considered to be naked, in that it has nothing to hide. But has the justice system in the USA been smeared with racial biases? Are some races more likely to get the tougher side of the arm of law or is this claim just another prejudice against the US justice system? Scholars from various disciplines such as social justice, law, criminology and others seem to agree that racism in the criminal just in US is a smelly issue that has not been tacked completely for a long time. Racism seems to start with the very arm of the criminal justice that is closest to the civilian, the law enforcement. Racial profiling is an issue that has existed for a long time. In this regard, people from particular races such as the African Americans are more likely to be stopped by a police officer, interrogated, or even held against their will for no apparent reason. This issue of racial profiling is one that has sparked heated debate across various academic disciplines. While the law enforcement has been seen to be racist in the way they carry out their work, racism does not seem to stop there. The court system in the US as well as the correctional department, both at national and state levels has also been accused of racism. Some claim that rulings in court are more likely to be swayed by the color and race of the offender and the plaintiff. The fact that there seems to be some patterns which are indicative of racism in the criminal justice at any stage such as the law enforcement, the court system or the correctional department, may not necessarily mean that the criminal system is racist. Scholars such as Chanse (2002) have defended the US criminal justice system against claims of racisms saying that there is no institutional or systematic racism in the justice system. They have argued that, especially in courts, the cases are determined by the seriousness of the crime that the defendant has committed. Yet, there seems to be constant issues indicating that there is racism. One would then have to ask; why are these racist patterns detected in the justice system? Why are the police more likely to stop a car driven by a black person than a white person? Why is the ratio of black inmates in the correctional system way above the ratio of blacks to whites in the American society? And why are there more African American death row inmates than are whites, especially Caucasian whites? Do these patterns indicate that the criminal justice is rigged against the African American or does this mean that African Americans are more prone to committing crimes than are their Caucasian counterparts? The issue of racial criminality Many theories have been designed in light of the criminality of a person. It has been argued that crime is a genetic issue and that criminals are born criminals. This theory disputes the theory of the social effect of criminality which argues that criminals are made by circumstances and the society around them. What this theory wanted to indicate is that criminals are born criminals and will commit crime not considering where they reside, whether they live in affluent areas or come from rich families, or whether they are poor and come from very poor neighborhoods. If this theory was valid, then it would probably indicate that some races are also likely to be more prone to criminality than others. This would then explain the racial disparities as can be seen in the justice system. If African Americans and Hispanic whites are more likely to commit crime than are Caucasian whites, then this would explain why the criminal justice system seems to have those discrepancies (Welch, 2007). Conversely, there are issues which must be considered in putting this kind of an argument ahead. Some of these factors include the issue of poverty. Poverty, race and crime It is good to establish that almost all scholars, whether they blame the justice system for racism or not, agree that there are obvious racial differences as can be seen in the way the police deal with suspects, the rates of conviction in the court systems and the way inmates are treated. Some have even argued the very laws that govern the criminal justice are also racially biased. For instance, as Mustard (2001) explains, the federal cocaine laws seem to have been designed with a racial bias. He argues that the severity of punishment for crack cocaine is a hundred times more severe than for powder cocaine. The reason why this is seen as a racial issue is the fact that African American cocaine users are more likely to use crack cocaine while their white counterparts are highly likely to use powder form of cocaine. In this regard, if arrested and arraigned in court, a black cocaine user would stand a punishment that is way more severe that a Caucasian cocaine user. However, these factors in and by themselves may not necessarily indicate that there is racial differences in the way offenders are treated. Rather, they might only indicate that there are patterns in crime that are aligned with racial tendencies. As Elder (2012) says, in America, a bigger percent of the African Americans are poor minorities. In this regard, if poverty can be considered to be a social factor affecting the rates of crime, it would hen explain why there is an issue of racial differences in the US criminal justice system. For instance, if black people are more likely to engage in crime, it would explain why the policemen are more likely to stop African Americans in the highway as opposed to white Caucasians. This would also explain why the ratio of African Americans and Hispanic whites in the correctional facilities are inconsistent with the ratio of the same races in the US society. Trouble begets trouble There are those who have argued that trouble begets trouble. In light of this, what that implies is that the high levels of crime among blacks emanates from the fact that the African American community has been ignored for a long time, socially and economically. This neglect, emanating from the slavery and segregation days have been carried forward, always creating poorer African Americans who are less educated, lower chances of getting employed and a distrust of the authorities. Most young African American men are already in distrust of the law enforcement and see the law enforcement as they enemy number one. These aspects may give details why there are so many issues with regard to law and racism. If this theory is valid, then it seems that the issue of race is beyond just the justice system but starts at the society level. This would show a racial society has neglected a certain portion of the society, thus forcing it to have to come up with negative coping methods. Self fulfilling prophecies Just like many predictions in the economic systems are self-fulfilling, the predictions in the legal system are also self-fulfilling. As the police expect young black people to be criminals, this becomes truth because the young people will have to live with this stereotype placed on them. The fact that young black people are considered to be criminals may mean that they are less likely to get employment and this in turn may lead to them committing crime for economic purposes. The attitude of the police is also a serious issue because it can hinder collaboration between the African American communities thus making the relationship between the communities and the police worse. Whether or not there is racial prejudice in the US criminal justice system is a question of perceptive. According to Doyle (2010) there are so many issues which would have to be considered with regard to this issue. The first one is the culture of societies which seem to affect the way people live and act. While there may not be enough evidence to support racial tendencies to criminality, there is enough social evidence to indicate that certain societies are more likely to involve in crime. This can be seen not only in the US but also in other countries. A good example is in Italy where the mafia and criminal organizations are a common thing. Social factors do play a bigger role in determining the criminality of certain racial and ethnic groups. Guilty or not guilty While the above argument may be valid, it does not necessarily acquit the criminal system of the guilt of racism. Even in the case that it is true that there are high rates of criminality among the African Americans than in whites, there could be racial differences in the way these cases are treated. In fact, the very fact that there is that general belief in that some races are more likely to be crime infected may lead to the custodians of the criminal systems such as the police and the judges and magistrates to be more biased while carrying out their work. Further investigation Racial issues in the US are an issue that does not need introduction. Social scholars such as Doyle (2010) have argued that the more this issue is ignored, the more it will continue to affect the society. It is necessary for all stake holders to not pretend that everything is okay and start working towards correcting what is wrong. If racial issues are so common in the daily social life of American, it is not unlikely for it to appear in the justice system. This is an issue that would need much more research and recommendations as to how it can be viewed. References Gerald, O. (2012). Racial Law: Federal and State Laws on Coccaine. Journal of Legal Studies , pp. 34-38. Mustard, D. (2001). Racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in sentencing: evidence from the US. federal courts. Journal of law and economics, 64: 285-314. Welch, K. (2007). Black Criminal Stereotypes and Racial Profiling. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 23: 276-287. Doyle, J. (2010). Learning from error in American criminal justice. The journal of criminal law &criminology, 100 (1): 110-147. Chanse, S. Masking The Divide: How Officially Report e d Prison Statistics Distort The Racial And Ethnic Realities Of Prison Growth", National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, Washington, D.C. Elder, L. (2012, April 19). Five Myths of the 'Racist' Criminal Justice System. Retrieved February 19, 2014, from Townhall: http://townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/2012/04/19/creators_oped/page/full Read More