Whenever we hear of the American Criminal System, what come to mind is a system that has a trusted procedure through which criminal conduct is investigated, arrests are made, facts are gathered, charges are brought, defenses are raised, trials conducted, sentences passed, and sentences passed in the most reasonable a manner as is possible so that there is this feeling in our inner core, that justice has been done. Unfortunately, this assertion for many may be troubling, and may not always be as true to itself as should be. The question therefore is, what went wrong with the justice system, or why is it that some people are more susceptible than others to be behind bars?
According to a Huffington Post blog titled Michelle Alexander: More Black Men Are In Prison Today Than Were Enslaved In 1850 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/12/michelle-alexander-more-black-men-in-prison-slaves-1850_n_1007368.html), it has become really nerve wrecking to revisit these questions every now and then. Shouldn’t the American Criminal Justice System be doing what it is suppose to do in a democracy? Has the system become what Michelle Alexander has described as The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness? How could the United States have stoop so low in this new age to allow one of the world’s trusted criminal justice system to be so undermined by special interest? Tamar Birckhead in Delinquent by reason of poverty (http://jjie.org/delinquent-by-reason-of-poverty/91501) insinuate that this is a result of both institutional and structural causes, where the standard of proof in delinquency courts is determined in large part by the socio-economic class of the accused, and in my mind this scenario is applicable to other vulnerable demographic groups in the criminal justice system. The question we must ask and often is, how can we make this right? How can we avoid or intervene and to put a stop to what Michelle Alexander has positioned as the demise of Jim Crow and the replacement of the criminal justice system, as our society’s system of racial control?
Hi Jeroline,
ReplyDeleteThat is very sad to think that Jim Crow laws could be replaced by our nation's criminal justice system.
I think that instead of locking people behind bars and labeling them as "bad people" or "criminals" that we need to help them. I think people commit crimes for a reason. Perhaps they have dealt with a lifetime of hurt, anger, or feeling insignificant. I propose that therapy programs be available to inmates to help them figure out what is causing them to feel and do what they have done. They need to develop a sense of self-worth. If they do not know that they make a difference, that their actions have an effect on society, then they will not change.
I think education, rehab, and work-promotion programs should be available too.
Maybe people should not be locked behind bars and left to suffer, but instead, taught to live.