Race and Justice Department - Coursework Example

Race and Justice Department Introduction It is often suggested that living in society should be regarded as an irreplaceable prerequisite for the development of the inner potential of a person to its fullest. However, if one takes a careful look at the contemporary American society, one can not help noticing that some parts of the population, namely African American and Hispanic minorities are suffering from inequality in terms of justice. This paper will provide an overview of the situation, important variables that should be taken into account, reasons that are able to explain the variable, analyze what happens to minorities when they enter the judicial system as suspects and articulate ways of correcting the existing state of affairs. Overview of the situation According to the evidence which was collected by Bureau of Justice Statistics, at least in the previous decade there was a trend when African American as well a Hispanic offenders constituted over two thirds of those who were arrested (Motivans, 2015). In spite of the fact that the above mentioned groups belong to minorities in terms of representation in population, they outnumber whites in terms of incarceration. In addition to that, the information which was released by the bureau in question also shows that these two minority groups have the highest rate of return: roughly nineteen and a half percent of African American offenders released from prisons return to in the first three years; the number for Hispanics is slightly smaller – fourteen percent (Motivans, 2015). Important variables Now, it may be particularly important to analyze some of the variables that should be taken into account while examining the data concerning minorities in the justice system of the United States of America. To begin with, one should point out that there is a peculiar finding that can be seen in the statistics: if one takes a look at the demographics of the arrested individuals by drug type, one can not help noticing that African Americans out number any other part of the population when it comes to offences connected with crack cocaine. The ratio in comparison with the white is 10 to 1 (Motivans, 2015). The next important aspect that one should focus on is the institute of parole and the way it affects the minorities. The statistic shows that the number of African Americans on parole is compared to the number of their white counterparts as 2 to 1 (Motivans, 2015). This means that the former have more chance to return to prison because of various violation that are associated with it. Indeed, it was found that African Americas are almost twice as likely to use drugs while being on parole as whites (Motivans, 2015). In addition to that, the probability that a black person is likely to violate the rules of parole while committing a new crime is even higher: two and a half time more than whites. This means that parole serves a completely different function: with the given probability in mind, it may be seen as a way to add more time to sentence of a person who belongs to a minority. Finally, one would make no mistake pointing out the inequality in the amount of time that criminals who come from different cultural background serve behind the bars. The statistics suggests that on average African Americans serve on sentences that are around 83 months which is much longer than roughly 46 months that white offenders serve (Motivans, 2015). Drug offences and weapon offences are the types of sentences which feature the biggest gap. Underlying reasons The facts which were mentioned above are not able to explain the state of affairs that can be witnessed in the United States of American with the regard to people who come from minorities as well as treatment of them by the justice system. That is why it may be particularly advantageous to focus on the underlying reasons that are manifested as the variables above. First of all, if one examines the phenomenon why crack was found as the most widely spread drug among African Americans, one will notice that it is relatively cheap and, therefore, affordable for people who often belong to lower socioeconomic classes. Secondly, the high rate of instances of violation of parole suggests that this institute of correction is not fully effective when it comes to applying it to African Americans. In other words, the amount of time over which the beliefs of a person are though to change does not match with the actual situation. Thirdly, the fact that African Americans are likely to commit a new crime while being on parole more than white people can be interpreted as a manifestation of income inequality. Indeed, offenders who belong to this minority might experience troubles finding money for living or for buying crack; hence, returning to the path of crime is conditioned by economic situation. This means that income inequality, in fact, is indirectly responsible for the rise of criminal actions in minority communities. Finally, data which shows that African Americans on average serve longer sentences is often explained by the already mentioned point: the violation of parole rules. Indeed, the more there are people on parole, the higher chances that they will earn additional time to their new sentence. In other words, the contemporary justice system indirectly favors other parts of the population my releasing them less on parole. This means that once out of prison, African Americans find themselves in a disadvantageous state. Minority and the justice system If one considers the issue in question from a broad perspective, one can not omit paying attention to the way people who belong to minorities are treated y the justice system. Thus, it must be noted that when an African American is being arrested, one is likely to be serve a long sentence if compared to a white criminal. In spite of the fact that the applicable law does not have an explicit provision for this, the available evidence, which was partially cited, shows that this is exactly the case. One would not make a mistake suggesting that the demographics of justice system might provide some clues. Thus, the number of judges who are not white does not rise above thirteen percent these days (Reddick, Nelson & Caufield, 2009). It did make a tremendous leap from four per cent in 1970s, but still, it is rather obvious that an African American or Hispanic judge is quite rare. In addition to that a lawyer, who represents the party that is supposed to protect the interests of a convicted person, is likely to be white. Indeed, in 2010 the number of African American lawyers amounted to slightly less than five per cent and the number of Hispanic lawyers was even smaller (“Lawyer demographics”, 2012). All this results in the fact that criminals who belong to minorities are judged and legally represented by people who are of a different cultural background. Solution Having examined all the variables as well as underlying reasons, one will be able to come up with the following suggestion that might contribute to improvement of the current situation. First of all, the government should work on elimination of income inequality and make sure that this problem is not racialized. This will remove the economic constituent of the problem. Secondly, it may be particularly significant to implement various social programs against that increase the awareness of negative influence of drugs among the citizens who belong to lower socioeconomic classes. This will reduce the number of offences that are connected with crack cocaine and drugs in general. Thirdly, the government should engage the above mentioned statistics are recognize that the institute of parole is not affective when it comes to implementing it with regard to African Americans. This means that there should be designed alternative ways to release prisoners or directed programs that would make the time that they spend in prison more effective in terms of changing their outlook. Finally, one of the most significant improvements that should be introduced is promotion of racially diverse representatives of the judicial system. Of course, it does not mean that cases when an African American is convicted should be heard only by African American judges. However, the legal system is likely to benefit from more people who belong to minorities pursuing careers as a lawyer or a judge. This is likely to result in more objective interpretation of cases and contribute to representation of the minorities in the above mentioned area of social life. Conclusion As one can easily see, the relationship between race and justice department is a rather complicated one. On the one hand, the former is not supposed to play any role in the process of judging a person. Nevertheless, on the other hand, those who belong to African American or Hispanic minorities tend to serve longer sentences, judged by people who come from a different cultural background and on average be convicted more often. There is no doubt that the government should adopt a complex approach while dealing with this negative phenomenon. References Lawyer demographics. (2012). Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/marketresearch/PublicDocuments/lawyer_demographics_2012_revised.authcheckdam.pdf Motivans, M. (2015). Federal Justice Statistics, 2011–12. Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fjs1112.pdf Motivans, M. (2015). Federal Justice Statistics, 2012 - Statistical Tables. Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fjs12st.pdf Reddick, M., Nelson, M., & Caufield, R. (2009). Racial and Gender Diversity on State Courts. Retrieved February 15, 2015, from http://www.judicialselection.us/uploads/documents/Racial_and_Gender_Diversity_on_Stat_8F60B84D96CC2.pdf Read More