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The role of the criminal justice system
The role of the criminal justice system
The role of the criminal justice system
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In 1984, Jennifer Thompson was the victim of a burglary and rape. She subsequently identified her attacker, choosing Ronald Cotton out of a photo and in-person line-up. Cotton was exonerated after 11 years of incarceration after the application of DNA technology in the case. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill defines Sociology as the study of human social relationships and institutions. The experiences of Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson embodies many key concepts of sociology. Many of these concepts are related and one is characteristic of another in many ways. Ronald Cotton struggled with the judgments made about him based on his race alone, and this is a prominent social issue that exists in his story.
Ronald Cotton faced scrutiny and discrimination. This treatment did not begin with the Thompson case. Cotton had dated white women in the past, and it was known by his neighbors that he did so. Cotton knew that the town disapproved of his behavior and felt that by merely dating white women, the town felt he was guilty of other crimes (Thompson-Cannino, Cotton, p. 84). During the investigation, detectives judged Cotton based on his race, specifically commenting that he dated “little white girls” (Thompson-Cannino, Cotton, p. 82). Prosecutors
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intentionally excluded white jurors, failing to give Ronald Cotton a fair trial (Thompson-Cannino, Cotton p. 123). Racism is the specific type of discrimination experienced by Ronald Cotton. He was judged based on his ascribed status of race. Those outside of the black subculture were quick to judge Cotton’s behaviors, deeming some of them to be outside the norms accepted by society as a whole. Cotton was not breaking any laws when he dated women who were of a different race, but because the culture of America considered that to be inappropriate at the time, he was looked down on for it. The racist perspectives of society, the community, and ultimately law enforcement, played a large role in the conviction of Ronald Cotton. Accommodation is seen in the behaviors of his family and friends when Cotton first learns the police are looking for him. Cotton has accepted that his position in society as a black man has placed him in the minority group. He expects to face scrutiny due to his position separate from the dominant group, being the white males of law enforcement and the courts in this circumstance. Ronald Cotton also exhibits accommodation later during his interrogation by detectives, feeling powerless after they bring up his interracial relationship patterns (Thompson-Cannino, et.al. p. 85). The selection of an all-white jury during the trial only served to further Cotton’s alienation: he was powerless and unable to defend himself. His ultimate conviction and sentence resulted in social isolation from his previously established relationships. Cotton was sent to the correctional system that serves as an institution existing within but separate from society. His only interaction with the “outside” would be through the infrequent occurrence of visitations and written correspondence. Cotton was forced to adapt to the social and economic system of the prison, participating in physical altercations and underground business ventures, in order to survive. The closed system of the prison did not spare Cotton from further discrimination. His appeals served as an unfriendly reminder that his race played a role in his conviction. Sociological concepts can be applied individually and as a group.
Many ideas of sociology go hand-in-hand. This is true when you apply the sociological science to the story of Jennifer Thompson-Cannino and Ronald Cotton. Racism is the dominant social issue that exists in their story. The underlying sociological concepts of discrimination, ascribed status, norms, accommodation, alienation, institutions, and closed systems are also present. The attack of Jennifer Thompson-Cannino was horrific and she had a right to justice. Still, considering the circumstances, one has to wonder if the judicial system was quick to jump to the conclusion of Ronald Cotton’s guilt based on his race
alone.
The hypocrisy and double standard that allowed whites to bring harm to blacks without fear of any repercussions had existed for years before the murder Tyson wrote about occurred in May of 1970 (Tyson 2004, 1). Lynching of black men was common place in the south as Billie Holiday sang her song “Strange Fruit” and the eyes of justice looked the other way. On the other side of the coin, justice was brought swiftly to those blacks who stepped out of line and brought harm to the white race. Take for instance Nate Turner, the slave who led a rebellion against whites. Even the Teel’s brought their own form of justice to Henry Marrow because he “said something” to one of their white wives (1).
Taylor, Keeanga-Yamahtta. "Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs: Racism in America Today."International Socialist Review Online November-December.32 (2003): n. pag.ISReview.org. International Socialist Organization. Web. 07 Dec. 2013. .
Within the book picking cotton, the alleged rapist Ronald Cotton is sentenced to life in prison and 55 years. During his sentence he finds himself being placed in solitary confinement, and while there Ron finds the experience rather beneficial as he explains that being in there presented him with the chance to meditate and reflect. Now there are many rumors about the infamous solitary confinement. These rumors debate whether or not it helps prisoners, allowing them to spend the time as Ronald Cotton as seen it, as an opportunity to self-reflect, or if it is a cruel and unusual punishment due to the drastic effects it has on convicts. The initial intent of solitary confinement was to isolate convicts as a way for them to self-reflect and improve
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.
The court system includes the judges, jury, prosecutors and defense attorneys. The Attorneys convince the suspects to take plea bargains, the judges are sometimes unfair in the decisions they make, and the prosecutors overlook exculpatory evidence. Picking cotton shows in detail some common errors of the court system. During Ronald Cotton 's first trial, His Attorney, Phil Moseley, tried to bring a memory expert to testify on the unreliability of memory but the judge denied his request. After Ronald 's case was overturned by the supreme court, he got a new trial in another court which had even more problems and bias. First, there was racial prejudice during the jury selection. “Four black people from the community got called in for jury duty. The judge himself dismissed one of them and then Mr turner made sure none of the rest sat on my jury” Ronald cotton stated. Because he was black, the four jurors were dismissed and he was left with an all white jury and two white Alternates. Second, the judge “Held something called a “voir dire” hearing, which Phil explained meant he would have to put up all the evidence about Poole in front of the Judge, but not the Jury”(129). Also, Ronald Cotton 's defense attorney explained to the judge the parallelism between Bobby Poole 's case and the rape Ronald Cotton was charged with. Despite the weak physical evidence against Ronald Cotton, the
"Forgiveness" and "racism" are two words that usually do not go together. Surprisingly enough Picking Cotton tells the story of how Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton showed the upmost forgiveness for a wrongful conviction that in part was caused due to the racism. Racism was surely present in the South in the early 1900 's, but historically one does not think racism was a major issue in the 80 's. In one man 's opinion, Ronald Cotton, the Burlington police had racist views that contributed to him serving a life imprisonment for a crime he never committed. In 1984 when two white women were raped by a black man, race played a role in convicting the wrong black man in Burlington, North Carolina. Ronald Cotton was wrongfully convicted by racism
Institutional racism, maintains the unequal outcomes in the criminal justice system result from the practice, resides in the policies, procedures, operations and culture of public or private institutions – reinforcing individual prejudices and being reinforced by them in turn’(Sveinsson, n.d.). This approach was generated by the Macpherson report, Stephen Lawrence, a young black
“The New Jim Crow” is an article by Michelle Alexander, published by the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law. Michelle is a professor at the Ohio State Moritz college of criminal law as well as a civil rights advocate. Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law is part of the world’s top education system, is accredited by the American Bar Association, and is a long-time member of the American Law association. The goal of “The New Jim Crow” is to inform the public about the issues of race in our country, especially our legal system. The article is written in plain English, so the common person can fully understand it, but it also remains very professional. Throughout the article, Alexander provides factual information about racial issues in our country. She relates them back to the Jim Crow era and explains how the large social problem affects individual lives of people of color all over the country. By doing this, Alexander appeals to the reader’s ethos, logos, and pathos, forming a persuasive essay that shifts the understanding and opinions of all readers.
In the 1930’s a plethora of prejudiced persons are present amidst the prominent Scottsboro trials, a seven-year-long case consisting of false rape allegations made against nine black boys from Scottsboro. When citizens fail to acknowledge their own preconceived ideas and look past the prejudice present in society, justice cannot be served. In the Scottsboro case, the court of Alabama disregards the societal issues surrounding racial discrimination and endorses the guilty verdict and conviction of the nine African American boys. Failing to look past their own personal biases, the jury ignores the unquestionable evidence that would support the boys’ case. Instead, the jury focuses on their predilection
In her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander states that we still use our criminal justice system to “label people of color ‘criminals’ and then engage i...
What has changed since the collapse of Jim Crow has less to do with the basic structure of our society than with the language we use to justify it. In the era of colorblindness, it is no longer socially permissible to use race, explicitly, as a justification for discrimination, exclusion, and social contempt. So we don’t. Rather than directly rely on race, we use the criminal justi...
For the past few years there has been an ongoing debate surrounding the issue of racial profiling. The act of racial profiling may rest on the assumption that African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to commit crimes than any individual of other races or ethnicities. Both David Cole in the article "The Color of Justice" and William in the article "Road Rage" take stance on this issue and argue against it in order to make humanity aware of how erroneous it is to judge people without evidence. Although Cole and William were very successful in matters of showing situations and qualitative information about racial profiling in their articles, both of them fail at some points.
Example: Calvin Johnson a 25 year old African American was wrongfully accused of four rape crimes in 1999, which he was given a life sentence plus 16 years. He was identified by four different women, which one of them claim she got a good look at him in her apartment. Being a young African American college student recently released from a prison for a burglary he committed in 1981;the authorities decided to focus on Calvin Johnson. The victim had already pleaded guilty to the crime and served 20 months. While incarcerated a detective brought a white female to his cell wanting to discuss other crimes in the neighborhood. Calvin refused to talk about crimes he had no knowledge about. Shortly, after this incident the white female identify Calvin
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.
middle of paper ... ... CRT scholars criticize the incapacity of legal discourse because it only addresses the most crude forms of racism and not the more complex forms of racism which are ingrained in nowadays’s society (Gillborn, 2008). This critique does not attempt to diminish the significance of civil rights, it criticizes traditional’s legal doctrine of inability to deal with subtle and invisible forms of racism (Gillborn, 2008). Moreover, civil rights crusade, is a long and slow process, which has not yet brought the desired social change and as CRT scholars argue the beneficiaries of this legislation was the Whites (Ladson-Billings, 2004).