The Criminal Justice System as a Gendering Structure

The Criminal Justice System as a Gendering Structure

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963

The narrow view of the world that we often experience prevents us from even engaging for or against ideals that we would take on, given the chance. We often become deaf to opportunity, however. While it may seem we are complicit in many of the injustices that our society perpetuates, often times we are not even aware of the issue. An uninformed decision will be as bad as no decision. Many problems exude from the state of our social values. The role that women play in society is slowly changing from that of a ‘nurturer’ to any role a woman strives for. Progress has come through much pain and the hope is one day there will be real equality in the results of our societies spoken and unspoken laws.

The media can heavily influences public opinion. This holds true for both things that are over-informed and for topics that receive little attention. News sources have been proven to be capable of changing public opinion, or, less often mentioned, keeping public opinion the same. Those who strive for equality today are not only faced with the problems of informing people, they also must be able to gather support for their cause in the media. It seems the media grabs onto topics of a mini-van’s faulty seat belts faster than it does the treatment of women in the criminal justice system. The problem is discussed in the academic circle yet without more media support it seems the critique of the injustice goes unnoticed. This does not mean that the general public finds the current state of affairs acceptable (although by many accounts we do), but because th...

... middle of paper ...

...1993.

Pearson, Patricia. _When She Was Bad_. Jane von Mehran. England: Penguin Group, 1997.

Rivera, Jenny. Domestic Violence against Latinas by Latino Males._Critical Race Feminism_. Adrien Katherine Wing. New York and London: New York University Press, 1997. 259-266.

Streib, Victor. "Death Penalty for Female Offenders." March 1, 2002. Ohio Northern University. April 15, 2002. .

U.S. Census Bureau. "2000 Census of Population and Housing." May 2000. www.census.gov. April 15, 2002. .

Walker, Lenore. “Battered Wives, Battered Justice.” Cited by Gerald Caplan. National Review. February 25, 1991.

Young, Cathy. "Sexism and the death chamber." May 4, 2000. Salon.com. April 15, 2002. .