Racism in America’s Criminal “Justice” System

The great nation of the United States was founded on the golden

principles of freedom and equality for all. In fact, equality of the African

Americans was the very basis for the American Civil War. However, even

after so many years after the Civil War, the African Americans are still

treated with discrimination. Even the criminal justice system of the U.S.,

which is considered to be the most extensive throughout the world, does not

ensure equality of the black Americans. Even though the African Americans

constitute only about 13.3 percent of the population of the United States,

the prisons are full of them. The major reason behind such racial disparities

is the racial prejudice at the hands of the very people sworn in to protect the

minorities, like police officials and judges. Furthermore, the policies of the

government also significantly contribute to this undesirable trend.

Black Americans are under great threat of being incarcerated, as they

constitute almost half of the prison populations in the states of Illinois,

Georgia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Michigan, Alabama, Virginia, New

Jersey, Louisiana and Virginia. This percentage is much more (at 72 percent)

in Maryland. All these statistics demonstrate the high racial disparity faced

by these people all across the United States. The conditions are even worse

in the cases related to drugs. The use of drugs among the blacks and whites

is almost the same, as shown by a 2013 survey conducted by the Health and

Human Services Department of the United States. Yet, the African

Americans are arrested more than twice their population on drug-related

charges. As per the statistics of the FBI, of all the drug arrests, 29 percent

constitute African Americans. The same can be said in regards to marijuana,

with the blacks being 3.73 percent more likely to be arrested as compared to

the white Americans.

Moreover, racial profiling is another form of racial discrimination

against the blacks. The police stops are a notable example of this

phenomenon, as African Americans are stopped and frisked at a rate double

than the white Americans. Police racial profiles during daily survey

procedures continue to be held in the US. It is a very wrong phenomenon as

crime has no racial tendency. Anyone can become a criminal. Blacks, white

people, Hispanic drivers are criminals or have the same opportunity to

participate in criminal offenses. Furthermore, crime is a factor of action, not

related to individual race. Many Caucasians are convicted by participating in

illegal acts. Therefore, arrest and search of the police investigation should

not be disliked racially.

The population of African Americans in the United States is a minority

and they account for only 14 percent of national drug users. However, as

stated earlier, it accounts for about 29 percent of those arrested for drug-

related crimes. Most black people live in the poor, urban areas, so they are

easier to find than white people living in the suburbs. This explains

institutional racial discrimination in the American criminal justice system

against blacks. Approximately 5 percent of the African Americans detained

by police are not informed why they are detained. In addition, racism and

others' perceptions of blacks affect the judgment of the judges and the

judgment of the jury.

Racism in the American criminal justice system is a major problem.

This issue has always been present in the United States, however, it has

been brought into the limelight in recent times. Blacks have a greater

chance of staying in prisons and waiting for inspection than white Americans.

For example, according to the review of the Criminal Justice Department of

New York State in 1995, there is a disparity in arrest prosecution of severe

crimes, according to which, the probability of being detained is 33 percent

more for black criminals than white.

Furthermore, in the case of being arrested, almost 80 percent of the

accused individuals obtain a public defender. However, in civil courts, most

black people do not have public defenders. According to the 2015 report of

the American Federation of Bar Associations, defendants often complain of

crimes committed without having understood the legal rights. All Americans

have basic right to hire lawyers, but this right does not apply to many

African Americans. As citizen defenders are short to protect litigation on

their behalf, countless innocent blacks are executed in prison. By contrast,

Caucasian Americans have easy access to public defenders and most people

can win a trial.

 Young African Americans may be convicted for twice the crime of white

Americans' children. In the same way, unlike white children, black children

are 2.5 times more likely to be arrested due to curfew breach. Children of

African-Americans are twice as likely to be detained as white children.

Furthermore, according to a study of the National Academy of Sciences, it is

clear that blacks are more likely to be jailed than whites while waiting for

their affairs to be heard. According to the survey, African Americans tend to

be subject to imprisonment conditions instead of community service, unlike

white-American Americans. This explains why more Americans are black

than white people in prisons.

The same goes for the use of physical force by the police while

arresting black Americans. Once arrested, they are under a greater threat of

being faced by mandatory sentencing charges. For example, blacks are twice

more likely to face imprisonment instead of community service in contrast to

the white Americans. Moreover, after completing their prison sentences,

these people face great difficulty getting a job. It is true that acquiring a job

with a criminal record is hard for a person of any race, yet it is much harder

for the African Americans than the white people. Moreover, blacks are more

vulnerable to experience police brutality leading to death. The unfortunate

case of Freddie Gray, an African American male who died in police custody in

2015, is a noteworthy example of the police brutality faced by the blacks

due to their race.

 In fact, the movement of “Black Lives Matter” was started in response

to the severe police brutality against the African Americans the slogan “black

lives matter,” is the battle cry of the movement against the brutality of the

police against the African Americans. It began as the small protests in Saint

Louis and gradually spread across the whole country. The movement

shamed the American media and the politicians who do not do anything to

mitigate racial discrimination against the African Americans. The strength of

today's movement manifests itself in many different ways. It has been

offensive since its inception. Among the most popular on street protests and

in social media, the refrain movement - "Stop it!" (Shut it down!) was more

than just a slogan. It found its expression and in reality, when activists in

dozens of cities blocked traffic, marched on highways, stopped trains, mated

their hands on the railway tracks, took seats at intersections, delayed sports

events and temporarily occupied shopping centers, large retailers shops,

police stations and city halls. Activists state that racism against blacks is a

systemic problem and it is necessary to struggle against it.

The wide scope of the movement is another indicator of its strength

and the evidence that it touched the living. Protests under the slogan "Black

Lives Matter" were held in all major cities of the country. But they also

protested in cities with a small percentage of black population. Throughout

the country, students from universities, secondary and even primary schools

participated in them. Students of colleges joined them on campuses of all

types, and there was even one action organized exclusively by medical

students. Protests under the slogan "White robes for black lives" have

involved students more.

An advanced line of structural racism against blacks is mass

imprisonment and police killings that occur in the United States on average

every 28 hours. This explains the popularity of the last words of Michael

Brown "My hands are raised, do not shoot," which became a slogan on

marches across the country. The meaning of this phrase: We do not do

anything wrong; the aggressor is a racist system, not us. Activists of the

movement consciously challenge concept held by most white Americans that

the blacks are themselves responsible for their situation. They argue that the

system should be transformed to bring about an end to racial discrimination

and violence.

The movement has a direct prehistory. The most recent predecessor

movement also arose from a specific case - the persecution and murder of a

teenage Trayvon Martin by a vigilant-rascal George Zimmermann in

February 2012 in Stanford, Florida. Although many of the thousands of

protesters associated this case with a wider injustice in terms of race, the

protest faced obscurity as the American system of criminal justice could not

even offer the appearance of an honest trial. The conclusions that the

activists made from such circumstances form the consciousness of today's

protesters.
 However, as the movement grew and brought the issue of racism to

the global forefront, it was met with a negative response by the whites. The

slogan, "All Lives Matter" is proof of the fact. It refuses to acknowledge the

fact that the American criminal justice system does not treat all the people

in the same manner. The same can be said for the slogan "Blue Lives

Matter," as representing the police as victims and the blacks as the

aggressors is simply a distortion of the facts. Although the police officers

that are slain deserve respect, they should not overshadow the racism faced

by the black Americans.

In conclusion, it is true that the constitution of the United States calls

for equality of all the Americans before the law, regardless of their race, the

American criminal justice system is mired in racism. African Americans are

always excluded from jury service. Furthermore, black offenders always

receive a 10 percent longer sentence than a white criminal for the crimes of

similar nature. They face the threat of being incarcerated, stopped

needlessly at police stops and face police brutality at rates much higher than

white Americans. Racism is a major problem in the American criminal justice

system and it should be mitigated at all costs as all humans are equal.