Unintended discrimination occasionally occurs during legal processes
Many times people are discriminated against due to various reasons such as gender, level of education, the color of their skin, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation. No one should be discriminated against in society based on the above factors. Injustices have been practiced in the court of laws. This paper discusses inequality in the U.S. justice system based on race. The race discriminated against is the African American community
Unintended discrimination occasionally occurs during legal processes. It is the role of probation officers to take care of reports which assist the judges while making sentencing decisions. The reports show the details of the crime, including their background. Many Black Americans have poor experiences. They are always discriminated against because they are associated with problems like unemployment and violence from their home. When judges are presented with a case of Black Americans, they tend to assume that the black Americans are guilty of the offense just because they come from middle-class backgrounds. Such assumptions make judges sentence the black Americans more severely compared to white Americans.
An eyewitness in Los Angeles recorded a video of a policeman beating Rodney King, who was a black man. There have been several cases of police brutality towards the African-American community. When this video was presented in the court of justice, the judge found the officer not guilty for using excessive force. There was a demonstration from the Black Americans, which resulted after that verdict was made. This case was heard in 1991. After the contest, the police officers were sentenced in the federal court. Therefore, this case shows that the black Americans community suffer injustices from the criminal courts. Racial discrimination does exist in the judicial system.
The criminal court of justice of the U.S. A has been criticized for discriminating African-American. An analysis from the Bureau records indicates that 32 % of Black Americans can spend most of their time in prison in relation
6 5 of white Americans who are imprisoned. 12 % of the total people in the U.S. are Black Americans. Surprisingly, 40 per cent of all prison inmates are Black. The arguments besides racism in judicial systems in the U.S. are formulated on the ground that believes the court’s orders were developed by whites to protect their needs as they control the blacks.
The inequality in the judicial systems is also based on poverty. There is a belief that individuals who grow from poor upbringings are prone to committing street offenses such as theft and battering. About one-quarter of the black Americans live substandard lives in relation to the 10 % of white Americans. The relationship between poverty and criminal offenses is assumed, but that does not permit the judicial system to accuse blacks unjustly.
In 2010, the African Americans who were arrested amounted to more than a third of the total arrests. This number is beyond the total population of the blacks who live in U.S. Blacks represent only 12 %of the population. The police officers get involved in discriminating certain ethnic groups and minorities in the community. Africans- Americans have been reported to be arrested for drug trafficking and possession. These arrests are due to racial profiling. Police officers use drug courier profiles to harass blacks by accusing them of driving violations. A research conducted in 1991 showed that 72% of the chauffeurs who were arrested were blacks. A few years later, another study was done, and similar results were recorded. This kind of law enforcement policies and procedures affected blacks more than whites.
The RAND -Study reported that the sentenced black Americans are to go prison more in relation to the whites. When arrested, their sentences are a bit longer. This study also found that the jury and parole boards come up with decisions that discriminate against the blacks. A survey carried out in 1999 to examine the discrimination in the courts concluded that the difference in arrest charges causes the inequalities in penalizing.
Another study conducted by the Baldus reveals that there is inequality in death penalties were subject based on the color of the offender. Black victims are highly likely to receive death penalties compared to whites. A current study has also shown that the race of the suspect affects the ruling of death sentences, and it is widely practiced in U.S. federal systems. A study that examined the court system was conducted in 1995-2000. The report showed that in 159 cases, which were ratified for death punishment, 72 % were represented by Black Americans. The research discovered that the white culprits were granted waivers for death sentences compared to the blacks.
As racial inequalities continue to be displayed in u.ss justice system, the pundits have different opinions of what leads to such disparities. Since the 1960s the Supreme court decisions have discovered my racists practices in the court systems. However, it is tough to differentiate unintentional racist factors. Critics in the system emphasizes that inequalities should never be ignored. Thorough investigations should be conducted in judicial systems to eradicate any form of discrimination. The traffic policies and procedures which result in variations should be revised. To eliminate disparities in the U.S. legal system, there should be mixed juries, both blacks and whites. Having a mixed panel can end racial discrimination in the court’s verdicts.
4’M’