Reforming The Criminal Justice System For The Benefit of People Of All Races

African Americans populate 13% of the United States but fill over 40% of U.S. prisons (NAACP). It is a must that the inconsistencies in the Justice System are reduced, and also a call to address why African Americans represent such a disproportionate number. We the people must reform the criminal justice system to benefit people of every race. Our founding documents were written when African Americans were considered property. In saying this, it is understood why African Americans are constantly disenfranchised and thrown in prison, and that is because the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were not written with the validation that black people are people and not property. Our government’s makeup is formed with these documents being an example. It is clear our founding fathers did not value African American lives because of the tolerance they maintained with slavery and it is very likely their disregard of people of color would trickle into the government today.

We must refine every branch in this government including its laws and promote diversity within the system, to equally suit everyone in the United States and not just the majority race. In doing so we improve the inconsistencies in the United States justice system. Inequalities among African Americans go beyond the 21st century. During the time our country was founded, British America considered people of color inferior and a being to be owned. As our founding fathers created the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, a debate went on about whether or not Africans/African Americans were to be considered free people or people at all. As shown in table 1, the Three-fifths compromise was created to benefit southern slave states so that they would be represented as they felt they should be in the house of representatives, which was population-based.

So, as a compromise black people were said to be only three-fifths of a free people. In addition, the Constitution never mentioned much of slavery because most knew that slavery was bound to be self-destructive and it was best to leave out the shameful truth. Thomas Jefferson recognized slavery as a necessary evil, and during the construction of the Declaration of Independence, he drafted a paragraph that not only spoke against declaring independence from King George but creating the validity that Africans/African Americans are free because it is their “unalienable right” (Jefferson). In the end, America was founded on slavery and the lack of acknowledgment and disregard has drifted into today’s justice system.

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African Americans are stigmatized with the idea that they are violent criminals. Often statistics along the lines of “African Americans represent[ing] 2.3 million [of those incarcerated out ] of the total 6.8 million of [the] correctional population” (NAACP), lead people into believing black people are the most criminal out of all racial groups. Assuming this broad statement as truth shows ignorance and unnecessary judgment from individuals who lack proper research. These beliefs tend to form through the media's portrayal of African Americans. The media has perceptualized the characters of black people throughout history dating as far back to 1900’s with blackface in the newspapers. “’The media-television, the press and [the internet] play a central role in communicating to the public what happens in the world. In those cases, in which audiences do not possess direct knowledge or experience of what is happening, they become particularly reliant upon the media to inform them’”.

This means that those with no first-hand experience in urban communities rely on media platforms that are known for “reporting bias evidence that promotes certain events and causes for their own personal agenda” (McCarthy). If you’ve ever seen or heard news channels like Fox or WSB-TV, you most likely can recount stories aired, presenting African Americans in a harsh light. For example, Dylann Roof is a white supremacist male, who went into a South Carolina church and killed 9 innocent African Americans. NBC aired his story stating that the: “Charleston Church Shooter was a loner caught up in ‘internet evil’” (NBC) ,along with presenting a photo of him as a harmless child standing in front of flowers. Jim Jones was an African American male from south Chicago, who was killed shielding his mother from a “hail of gunfire”.

The caption Chicago Sun-times choose was as followed: “Son with troubled past shields mom from gunfire…”(Chicago). They also went further by posting a mugshot from his past. NBC went out of their way to find a innocent picture of a mass shooter, yet Jim Jones didn’t receive the same courtesy. The media portrays African Americans as criminals, and in addition neglect to address the socioeconomic factors that result in such criminal behavior. Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein et al. found that, “African American males who are stigmatized and incorrectly perceived as dangerous may be more likely to disengage from school thus [preventing some] employment opportunities,[ and in turn] necessitating [an] alternative means to gain income, which may include criminal activity”. As mentioned before, media outlets work against African Americans because it places a perception of violence that causes a rise in fear.

As a result, Black Americans, especially the youth, internalize these perceptions which tend to either effect their behavior or cause them to adopt the same beliefs about themselves. Lauren Brinkley-Rubinstein et al. also produced an account of a young black males point of view on the Trayvon Martin case: “’You see a Black person standing in the street, wandering, with a black hoodie on. I think he[‘s] suspicious, too, but that doesn’t give ‘em a right to shoot a boy, but, but I still think he’s suspicious.’’ This young male has “internalized [the] perceptions of” others believing that simply by being black, walking home, and wearing a black hoody is cause for suspicion and in the end an untimely death.

Furthermore, African Americans lack the proper resources that would skyrocket their success and that is mostly due to high poverty rates. African Americans represent 12.3% of poverty rates in America out of the overall 21.2% ,and even higher amongst African American women (bread). Most of my sources seem to agree that in impoverished urban communities, nonprofit organizations are extremely beneficial. Though the flaw in this would be the likeliness of receiving government funding to African American communities (Rubinstein 384). It has been reported that even if these communities were to receive funding the effects would most likely “reach only one mile”. African American communities are most likely not to receive funding because of the discriminatory beliefs of those who control funding, which is most likely someone of the majority race.

Eve Garrow states that, “racial attitudes and preferences indicate that whites are more likely to negatively construct neighborhoods that are over 20% African American as being “too black” and are far less likely to be willing to live in them” (392).  As a result African American neighborhoods are looked down upon and are less likely to have any developmental changes. Also policymakers don’t feel black people are in that much need of funding, but in reality black people are the leading impoverished group by race in America. In the end the unwillingness to improve black society result in African Americans feeling forced to look upon other means to sustain themselves and their families. As a consequence of internalized perceptions based on socioeconomic elements, 47% of African Americans are wrongly convicted and 22% more likely to be wrongfully sentenced when police misconduct is involved.

Though it seems as if convictions begin before any actual proceeding take place. Often time convictions begin the moment someone allegedly feels threatened and fearful of their life because of a person of color. Tamir Rice, in metaphorical terms, was sentenced to death before even being declared guilty of any crime. It all started with a phone call to Cleveland PD reporting a black male with a gun. The caller mentioned to the dispatcher that the boy in the park was most likely a juvenile and the gun was possibly fake. Tamir Rice had autism and he was 12 years of age when he was killed for playing with a toy gun 2 seconds after police officers arrived on the scene (CNN). Often, African American victims have tendencies to be criminalized in cases were cops are involved. Sarah Koenig, the host of the Serial podcast, briefly discussed the Tamir Rice case with former union president of the Cleveland police, Steve Loomis.

Loomis validates the shooting of Tamir Rice, stating, “Well, you can't taser a juvenile. OK. Tamir Rice, nobody wants to talk about it, but Tamir Rice was 5'7, 191 pounds, all right? He was 12 years old” (Koenig). Loomis presented the young child’s characteristics as if his height and weight were weapons and all the proof needed to justify shooting a child. Loomis apparently believes all people that are sized similarly to Tamir Rice are automatically deemed hostile. According to the CDC, the average height of a male is 5’7 and the average weight is 195 pounds (CDC). So, does this mean that police officers fear the average man? There isn’t a protest that “Big and Tall lives matter”, protestors are calling for people to acknowledge that “black lives matter”. He also went on to label Tamir as a “product of the street” and “not of a loving home”(Koenig) Steve Loomis has a formed perception of Tamir Rice being a street kid from the encounter he had with the police for playing with a common household toy.

Tamir Rice was 12 and he was playing in a park like 12-year-old children do. What about this says that he is a “product of the street”(Koenig). Loomis’s predetermined bias is an example of many preconceived notions police officers have when dealing with African Americans in urban communities. Tamir Rice was wrongfully convicted and his case is a case of many with similar outcomes. Mike Brown: unarmed and killed by police after being falsely accused of a robbery, Eric Garner: unarmed and killed by police after breaking up a fight , and Philando Castile: unarmed and killed by police for reaching for his wallet. These are all cases of black men being convicted without evidence and fair trial. The only difference from these individuals and those who actually make it to see a court trial, is simply the fact that they are no longer breathing. These cases show error in the justice system and lack of proper de-escalation tactics.

Socioeconomic factors contribute to a justice system that is set up against African Americans. People are known to fear what they don’t understand and as a result African Americans in urban communities are overpoliced. 32% of African American children are arrested [and] 42% are detained (NAACP).” Urban communities lack counselors and mentors. The African American youth are following the paths of those that surround them. The cycle begins with stigmatization of black youth. For instance, a famous rapper by the name of Meek Mill ended up in a similar situation. Meek Mill originates from an impoverished community in North Philly. He was 19-years-old when he was arrested and chargedwith not many positive role models grew up in north Philadelphia, “raised in public housing”, and he believed certain luxuries in life like having a nice car required a person from his impoverished background to live past the age of 20, and to him living past 18 was a feat (Solotarof).

Mill reminisces of old days: 'I had 10 friends die when I lived in North Philly, and probably another six or seven on the South side,' he says. 'I would literally open the door and smell the air outside. Yup, smells like murder today”(Solotarof). Meek Mill is also known as Robert Rihmeek Williams was accused of allegedly selling Cocaine to an undercover officer the 23rd of January. Officers found 30,000 dollars, that belonged to a cousin of the mill, who sold marijuana. Meek Mill was also charged for having a weapon without permit Even with multiple alibis and little to no evidence of being on that corner, court proceedings began. Mill mentions his lack financially that prevented him from attaining an attorney to deny the claims.

So instead he was given a court-appointed attorney who gave little to no effort in trying to free Mill of the charges.  The officer who arrested Mill claimed a gun was osentenced 2 years in prison for a minor traffic offense, and was given probation 12 years before this incident. Meek Mill was a product of his surrounding at that time, and no longer faces the circumstantial pains of his previous lifestyle. In knowing this it made no sense to punish him further for crime committed previously under pretense that because of the traffic violation he deserves a 2 year sentence.

Let’s begin to question why African Americans receive harsher sentences than any other race. A young white male athlete by the name of Brock Turners was caught raping an unconscious woman behind a dumpster. Brock Turner was “sentenced [to serve] six months in county jail… [but was released after] 3 months”. Corey Batey, is also an African American athlete who also was found raping an unconscious woman. Batey, unlike Turner, received 14 years in the federal penitentiary (Dent). Policymakers created various forms of mandatory minimums as rash prevention methods to prevent rape cases like brock turners from ever happing again. Mandatory Minimums are preset sentences that cannot be changed regardless of the circumstance of the crime. As an end result:

Mandatory terms and sentencing enhancements disproportionally increase black men’s admission rates to prison.’ In fact, it is the very belief that- mandatory minimums are race-neutral that results in the disparity. … In the end, mandatory minimums simply allow white people to believe the criminal justice system is impartial, while the sentencing scheme continues to disproportionally affect black people”. Mandatory minimums are predetermined sentences for particular crimes that can not be adjusted, even with extenuating reasonings. African Americans and whites use drugs at similar rates, but the imprisonment rate of African Americans for drug charges is almost 6 times that of whites (NAACP).” This shows that the majority race does not face the same adversities as a black person regardless if it is rape and/or drug charges and also that the system is set to stagnate black individuals

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