Criminal justice or injustice?
The Declaration of Independence stated, "...all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights..."(Jefferson). But how much of that is true? Since the very beginning of the legal system in the United States, there has been inequality. Appearance has held such precedence for Americans. Now, with the threat of terrorists, many use racial stereotypes to determine who is accountable for our unsafe environment. Color remains a powerful instrument for discrimination in the criminal justice system. Discrimination has been a large part of our society. But how can we overcome discrimination while the forces that protect us are one of the major causes? Police are using differential treatment upon minorities. In one case, which happened on March 3, 1991, four Los Angeles police officers brutally beat African American, Rodney King. When they brought the case to court, they moved it to a nearly all-white community without any jurors whom were African American. Some believe there are two justice systems: one for whites and one for people of color. Many feel the system is administered almost exclusively by whites and designed to protect the white lives and p
"The most recent statistics show that blacks are arrested and incarcerated for drug use at a much higher rate than can be accounted for by their rate of drug use. "Of the nearly 12,000 full-time state court judges across the country, only 465 were African American and 150 were Latino in 1991"(NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, 19). The officers responsible for Diallo's death were part of New York Police Department's "elite" Street Crime Unit. ca/racism/Submitted/Author/humanrightswatch. Is our criminal system completely just? Many feel in certain cases that the authorities are violating their human rights. Records of past statistics make officers believe they have a sufficient amount of evidence to incriminate anyone who fits these standards. This evidence provides that many misdemeanors of officers are just pushed to the side and allowed to proceed with their jobs. The Declaration of Independence is evidence that every American is granted their unalienable God given rights. constitute some 35% of those arrested for drug possession, 55% of those convicted of possession, and 74% of those sentenced to prison for possession" (http://www. "A study by the California Judicial Council Advisory Committee on Racial and Ethnic Bias in the courts found that the justice system gives little attention or resources to investigating crimes against minorities and that minority defendants receive harsh treatment compared to white defendants in similar circumstances.
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Acceptance Essays
