In history, African Americans have grieved from rejection because of their race through the scheme of slavery. From the past, slaves were depicted as assertions to their masters, and they had no right to question their actions. As a result, the slaves were prohibited from owning any right to freedom. The pattern took over the with exclusion and segregation in the society being a continuous process to date. The criminal justice of America has majorly been affected by the practice, especially when making the arrest charges and through court decisions. The African American youth have suffered a lot through the criminal justice system, primarily through discretion. As a result, the race has suffered been faced with unfair and unjust treatment based on their race. Therefore, this research paper will discuss racism and discrimination in the criminal justice scheme in America.
Today, the black people are diverse in America, covering the Latinos and other origins such as Jamaicans, West Africans, and West Indies communities. Also, the racial discrimination has taken a new notch with the Whites discriminating the people based on their skin color. Hence, a person might be discriminated against if they are black without necessarily having a black origin. Racism and discrimination in the criminal justice system started in 1986 when the black was depicted as lazy, sneaky, and thieves (Yu et al. 6). As a result, the blacks were accused of being violent, and they were mostly involved in mass gun shoot out. Also, the criminal offenses were mainly related to the teenagers who formed the criminal gangs. Though the black is working to sustain themselves after the burn of slavery, the white people in the criminal justice system have the same perspectives towards the black people.
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Furthermore, based on criminal victimization, the black people are victimized by violent crimes. According to studies, seven times, a white person is likely to be killed and double that they will be raped, mugged, or sexually attacked (Paixão et al. 49). Though the black population in America is approximately 13%, police arrest has shown inconsistency. For instance, in 2017, the blacks committed 47% of murders, 54% of robberies with violence, 30% of rapes, and 33% of assaults (Yu et al. 12). Besides, the studies have shown that black people occupy 46% of the population imprisoned in the state-federal penitentiaries. From police discretion statics, the black people have a higher chance to be suspected and frisked than the white person. Also, there are higher chances that a black teenager would be arrested when found in the street at night than a white kid. These statistical disparities are a clear demonstration that racism and discrimination exist in the police arrest and criminal justice system.
Moreover, their different methods that have shown racism and discrimination in the criminal justice systems. The most common is through police arrest. Studies have shown that there is unnecessary use of strength by the LAPD police, compounded by racism and bias (Paixão, 45). In a recent case study, George Floyd, a black man, died after the four US police pinned him to the ground (Rigby et al. 18). According to the reports, the four Minneapolis officers were fired after the act based on the ground that they exercised racism against Floyd. However, there are no charges that have been passed against four making the people demonstrate seeking justice (Rigby et al. 20). Also, the people have shown their anger through social media, especially twitter. According to one tweet, being black in America is probably a death sentence (Rigby et al. 21). Such use of excessive force in police arrest shown racism and discrimination.
Nevertheless, the Judicial system in America is biased, based on race and discrimination. Initially, laws have made an effort to entrench racial discrimination during jury selection (Rigby et al. 24). For instance, since 1930, the high court has taken over the jury assortment practice to ensure there is no racial discrimination. Such methods include the Fourteen Amendment of the constitution. Despite the regulation, racism and prejudice have taken over the jury selection exercise. For instance, Rigby et al. (25) asserts that potential white people put their name on white cards and black people on yellow cards them decide who would be summoned for jury duty. Besides, racism and discrimination are rampant in conviction and sentencing. Research shows that the black Americans are given a harsh sentence in the court while the white people are offered alternatives such as bails (Yu et al. 9). Also, research has shown that black Americans are likely to be given a capital punishment compared to white Americas. Therefore, racial discrimination in America in the criminal justice system has created alert.
In conclusion, racism and discrimination is rampant in America since the history of slavery. Black Americans have been depicted to be violent and lazy. As a result, there have been disparities in police arrest, jury selection, conviction, and sentencing. Black people have been accused of murder cases, rape, robbery, assault, and drug peddling. As a result, the arrest against black people has been rampant, increasing the numbers in prisons compared to white people. Nevertheless, black people have been given harsh sentences such as the death penalty, while white people are given lenient choices such as bails. Therefore, there is clear evidence of racism and discrimination in the criminal justice system.
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