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Justice is defined in many different ways, one referring to a form of judgment that provides order in a situation. Justice offers a fair punishment that fits the offense. The term holds a positive connotation, in contrast to the word injustice. While lawmakers try to structure a system to uphold fair punishments, some people within the system seem to taint the judicial pool. Just Mercy is a book that talks about injustice in the legal system. The author describes cases and clients that he’s worked with that were up against all odds. As seen within the book “Just Mercy” by Bryan Stevenson, some enforcers tend to prey on certain races and act more biased with others. This dilemma can lead to many cases of injustice, just based on people’s thought
and opinions on certain topics rather than reflecting on the actual situation. People within the court system should follow the rules with an unbiased standpoint or the punishment has the tendency to be altered to show injustice. Another factor that can lead towards injustice is the lack of all the details. Some cases aren’t always as clear as others, making it difficult to decide a proper punishment. Punishing a person for a crime that they have been accused of with little to no evidence is a risk. Perhaps the person did do everything that they have been accused of, but what if they didn’t? That person can be a victim of discrimination and seems to “fit the crime,” but pleads not guilty throughout the whole trial. Countless amounts of people are put to death in the United States, along with innocent victims burdened with a punishment that they never committed. Imagine being sentenced to death for a crime that you never committed. Anger and hopeless devour the mind in situations as brutal as these. The brain may stimulate the sympathetic division of the nervous system, evoking the fight or flight sensation. Not only have you been sentenced to be killed, but the reason behind it is a law enforcer who didn’t like the idea of your own race or religion and decided to place the blame on you without a second thought. With a trial date set, the officer has no proof against you to prove his point. However, when your court date approaches and you’re waiting to plead your case, the officer manipulates some evidence in his favor. The lawyer’s job is to defend his client, yet he is disinterested with the case. The effort the lawyer puts in to defend your case is minimal and by the end of the day, you are found guilty. The amount of effort and lack of fair treatment in this situation abruptly turned everything against you. Sometimes, wrongly accused people experience injustice depending on factors that shouldn’t be considered when it comes to the concept of law. Extreme cases are more common in the past rather than present, but some factors still remain today. Differences in opinion, biased outlooks, and unclear factors within a case can make the judgment process difficult. However, justice has a reputation for being served.
“Corruption is like a ball of snow, once it’s set a rolling it must increase (Charles Caleb Colton).” Colton describes that once corruption has begun, it is difficult to stop. Corruption has existed in this country, let alone this very planet, since the beginning of time. With corruption involves: money, power, and favoritism. Many people argue today that racism is still a major problem to overcome in today’s legal system. American author (and local Chicago resident) Steve Bogira jumps into the center of the United States justice system and tells the story of what happens in a typical year for the Cook Country Criminal Courthouse, which has been noted as one of the most hectic and busiest felony courthouses in the entire country. After getting permission from one of the courthouse judges’ (Judge Locallo) he was allowed to venture in and get eyewitness accounts of what the American Legal System is and how it operates. Not only did he get access to the courtroom but: Locallo’s chambers, staff, even his own home. In this book we get to read first hand account of how America handles issues like: how money and power play in the court, the favoritism towards certain ethnic groups, and the façade that has to be put on by both the defendants and Cook County Workers,
We can conclude with her analyses that the criminal justice in America is biased an even though I don’t agree with the suggestion Alexander has heard from other people that mass incarceration is a “conspiracy to put blacks back in their place” (p.5). It is clear that the justice system in the US is not completely fair, and that collective action must arise to struggle it.
Just Mercy’s Bryan Stevenson exposes some of these disparities woven around his presentation of the Walter McMillian case, and the overrepresentation of African-American men in our criminal justice system. His accounts of actors in the criminal justice system such as Judge Robert E. Lee and the D.A. Tom Chapman who refused to open up the case or provide support regardless of the overwhelmingly amount of inconsistencies found in the case. The fact that there were instances where policemen paid people off to testify falsely against McMillian others on death row significantly supports this perpetuation of racism. For many of the people of color featured in Stevenson’s book, the justice system was unfair to them wrongfully or excessively punishing them for crimes both violent and nonviolent compared to their white counterparts. Racism towards those of color has caused a “lack of concern and responsiveness by police, prosecutors, and victims’ services providers” and ultimately leads to the mass incarceration of this population (Stevenson, 2014, p. 141). Moreover the lack of diversity within the jury system and those in power plays into the already existing racism. African-American men are quickly becoming disenfranchised in our country through such racist biases leading to over 1/3 of this population “missing” from the overall American population because they are within the criminal justice
There are many ways to define injustice and many examples can be put forth to show what injustice is. John Updike ' short story A & P gives an example of the injustice of the bad treatment of others and general disrespect. It also gives another example of a phenomenon known as "White Knighting" especially with the intent of a reward. Another story that gives some examples of injustice is Laura Blumefield 's story The Apology: Letters from a Terrorist. I 'm the story; we are given the example of an injustice of how an innocent bystander was shot because of a long war between two groups of people. It also shows the injustices of prisons and how people who are incarnated are treated in other countries. Injustice is very prevalent on this planet,
Humanity instructs us that we must behave with tolerance and respect towards all. Just Mercy exemplifies how that is not the case for many Americans. Critical Race Theory is a theory which focuses on the experiences of people who are minorities. It argues that people who are minorities in the United States are oppressed and, because of the state of being oppressed, creates fundamental disadvantages (Lecture 4.7). A study conducted for the case McCleskey v. Kemp revealed that when a black defendant killed a white victim, it increased the likelihood the black defendant would receive the death penalty (Stevenson, 2014). Looking at this fact through the lens of a critical race theorist, it illustrates how unconscious racism is ignored by our legal system. The actuality that, statistically, people of color have a higher chance of getting sentenced to death than white people is a blatant example of inequality. In Chapter 8, Stevenson discusses the case of multiple juveniles who were incarcerated and sentenced to death in prison. These juveniles who were sent to adult prisons, where juveniles are five times more likely to be the victims of sexual assault, show an innate inequality towards minors (Stevenson, 2014). Ian Manuel, George Stinney, and Antonio Nunez were all only fourteen-years-old when they were condemned to die in prison. Although they did commit crimes, the purpose of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate young offenders. Trying juveniles in adult court represents a prejudice against age, which Stevenson sought to fight by working on appeals for Manuel and Nunez (Stevenson, 2014). His humanity shines through once again, as he combats the justice system to give the adolescents another chance at life, rather than having them die in prison. The way prisoners with mental and/or physical disabilities are treated while incarcerated is also extremely
Davis is emphasizing throughout her two lectures the importance of the lasting freedom from human beings. She also talks about how society’s dedication for freedom is so strong when ironically we have organizations who stop certain groups like class, race, gender, sexuality, etc. from being free. Furthermore, she’s intensely involved in her writing for social justice in our country. In “We need to talk about injustice” Bryan Stevenson mentioned how powerful and important for someone is. He mentioned his grandmother at the beginning of his speech and how much her experience as a slave had shaped her in how she saw the world. Furthermore, the imprisoning of her husband and the alcohol related death of Stevenson’s uncle had shaped her the way
In Bryan Stevenson’s book Just Mercy, it talks about the United States’ broken system of justice. In it, it captures an event where a 14-year-old South Central resident, Antonio, received imprisonment until death for a crime where no one was physically injured. The court ruled Antonio was a danger to society who will not be able to rehabilitate, sentencing him the be imprisoned until death, dismissing the lack of significant criminal history and his difficult background living in a lower socioeconomic area. This an example of the super predator theory in use at court. The theory states that young children who commit serious crimes are to be sentenced for life since they’re unable to become sane. Prison is not a place designed for rehabilitation,
This research essay discusses racial disparities in the sentencing policies and process, which is one of the major factors contributing to the current overrepresentation of minorities in the judicial system, further threatening the African American and Latino communities. This is also evident from the fact that Blacks are almost 7 times more likely to be incarcerated than are Whites (Kartz, 2000). The argument presented in the essay is that how the laws that have been established for sentencing tend to target the people of color more and therefore their chances of ending up on prison are higher than the whites. The essay further goes on to talk about the judges and the prosecutors who due to different factors, tend to make their decisions
In modern-day America the issue of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system is controversial because there is substantial evidence confirming both individual and systemic biases. While there is reason to believe that there are discriminatory elements at every step of the judicial process, this treatment will investigate and attempt to elucidate such elements in two of the most critical judicial junctures, criminal apprehension and prosecution.
According to wikipedia justice is “the legal or philosophical theory by which fairness is administered.” however justice has a different meaning in many cultures and can even differ per person, because of this justice doesn’t really have a singular meaning. If someone is fighting another person in a war or for other reasons they might think justice is simply them winning. So justice depends on the injustice it needs to fix.
Race plays a large factor in showing how you are viewed in society. Although there is no longer slavery and separate water fountains, we can still see areas of our daily life clearly affected by race. One of these areas is the criminal justice system and that is because the color of your skin can easily yet unfairly determine if you receive the death penalty. The controversial evidence showing that race is a large contributing factor in death penalty cases shows that there needs to be a change in the system and action taken against these biases. The issue is wide spread throughout the United States and can be proven with statistics. There is a higher probability that a black on white crime will result in a death penalty verdict than black on black or white on black. Race will ultimately define the final ruling of the sentence which is evident in the racial disparities of the death penalty. The amount of blacks on death row can easily be seen considering the majority of the prison population is black or blacks that committed the same crime as a white person but got a harsher sentence. The biases and prejudices that are in our society relating to race come to light when a jury is selected to determine a death sentence. So what is the relationship between race and the death penalty? This paper is set out to prove findings of different race related sentences and why blacks are sentenced to death more for a black on white crime. Looking at the racial divide we once had in early American history and statistics from sources and data regarding the number of blacks on death row/executed, we can expose the issues with this racial dilemma.
Judge W. James O’Neill is a primary example of a just man in the 21st century. Though he was not the perfect man, O’Neill spent his days trying to make the world a better place for individuals from all walks of life, “He had friends...of all shapes and sizes… rich, poor, black, white, democrat, republican, lawyer, defendant, you name it” (Michael O’Neill). He continuously acted out of the goodness of his heart without seeking personal glory. Because of his just actions during life, his legacy of justice and kindness will continue to live on long after his
Unfortunately, it tends to play a big role in the American judicial system. Simply changing the color of someone’s skin, a minor variable, can completely change the outcome of a lot of court cases. On a straight road of justice those looked as “lesser” curve to the right towards harsher treatment while those who are affluent and white, curve left towards increased leniency. Bryan Stevenson discusses how the color of one’s skin and financial status can truly affect how the world perceives someone. The idea of the poor or pigmented being looked down on is perfectly summarized in the introduction of Just Mercy when Stevenson says, “the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice,” (Stevenson 18). Stevenson isn’t making the claim that people in poverty cannot ever receive justice, but he is pointing out how much harder attaining justice would be. In the case of William Zanzinger, his wealth made it so easy for him to be released on bail after committing a murder. On the other hand, Walter McMillian, who came from a poor background, lacked the resources he needed in order to adequately fight for himself. It is very easy to see that the lawyer assigned to McMillian by the state does not compare the excellent lawyer that Zanzinger’s money was able to buy. The issue of finances and the type of lawyer someone is able to afford sets up the system so that some people are at the disadvantage. As we see
Bryan Stevenson is a lawyer who graduated from Harvard law school, which is one of the best school in this major if not the best in the world. He is the founder of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). He was born in November 14, 1959, in Milton, Delaware. According to equal justice initiative website, Bryan is interested in children in adult prison, death penalty, prisons, sentencing reform, race and poverty. He has a book, Just Mercy, that is talking about justice in the United state of America. Bryan got famous because pro pone work and has a lot of stories. In one of his most famous cases, He helped innocent a man on death row Walter McMillian. He was found guilty of killing 18-year-old Ronda Morrison, who was found under a clothing rack
If asked to define justice, we would say fairness, similar or equal treatment, due process and equal opportunity People know that justice is a larger concept than punishment, yet are mostly unaware