Racial+Equality+in+the+Criminal+Justice+System

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**Origin of Racism in the United States**
The root of racial inequality in the United States lies in the Atlantic slave trade that began when North America was just being colonized. During this time hundreds of thousands of African natives were captured and forced across the Atlantic to be sold as laborers. The perception of people as property that was pervasive at this time is the stem of racist thought. Slaves had none of the basic rights or protections that free men enjoyed. The Declaration of Independence that founded the United States contained the famous phrase "All men are created equal," but this concept did not extend to the slaves that were crucial to the US economy. Plantation owners sought to keep their source of free labor by promulgating absurd claims to support a view of African-Americans as racially inferior. By the time the Constitution was ratified in 1788, slavery had been out of practice in much of the world for many years. This Constitution was made with the intent of protecting the basic rights of all men but did not seem to apply to those with dark skin. However the introduction of the constitution and the subsequent addition of the amendment laid the groundwork for the abolition of slavery.

Slavery was never seen by everyone as an acceptable practice and in the beginning of the 19th century groups were formed that advocated for the freedom of African-Americans. These groups took several different approaches to the issue, but ultimately began to advocate for abolition. As the century progressed abolitionists grew in number and pressure was placed on the South to end the practice. This end would not come until the civil war when the practice was abolished largely as a punishment for the attempted secession of the South. As the former slaves became freemen they faced a new form of oppression in the poor treatment that the white majority subject them to. While it was a huge step to free former slaves, this did not guarantee that all people in the United States truly were free. Segregation and the lack of constitutional rights were an oppressive force that stifled the advancement of all black people.

The implementation of Jim Crow laws after the Civil War made the inequality of African-Americans a fact of law. These laws mandated "Separate but equal' accommodations for African-American but these accommodations were rarely equal. The government was controlled by the white majority and the little voting right that some African Americans did enjoy were suppressed by corruption and strict voting requirements. The Supreme Court during this time tended to side with the suppression of minorities even upholding the legality of segregation in //Plessy v. Ferguson//. This would become a theme of the first half of the 20th century as African Americans Battled in court for the rights that their fellow white citizens enjoyed. A changing culture as well as an adjustment in the attitude of Supreme Court Justices culminated in a series of landmark decisions that paved the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which finally put an end to legal discrimination.

**Important Cases for Racial Equality**
The Supreme Court has been the battleground for most of the advancements in civil rights. From the first time a man petitioned the court for his basic human rights in Dred Scott v Sanford to the tension inducing decision to end school segregation in Br own v Board of Education the Court trended towards allowing African Americans to enjoy the same constitutional protections as White Americans. This trend was due to a combination of social and political factors and was the cause of substantial turmoil and protest. Ultimately It will be an act of Congress that will free African Americans from the invisible shackles of segregation, but even this can not end the ever present racist thinking that still exists in much of the United States. The following cases represent pivotal moments in the fight for African American equality.

__Dred Scott v. Sanford (1856)__ Perhaps the most important pre-abolition Supreme Court case, in the Dred Scott Decision, as it would later come to be known, the court ruled that African Americans were not citizens of the United States and therefor were not entitled to the same rights and protections as White Americans. The case was brought before the court when Dred Scott, a slave from birth, attempted to buy his freedom but was not able to do so. He also had been relocated to Illinois which prohibited slavery. On the basis that his relocation to a free state should have granted his freedom Scott sued in Missouri Court. When the decision was made it was a resounding failure for Scott. The court held that African Americans wer e not citizens and therefor were not entitled to the rights contained in the constitution. Furthermore the court decided that an African American did not have the proper standing to file a court case because they were not a citizen for Article III purposes. This notably racist decision was later seen as an attempt to prolong slavery and prevent abolitionists from making any progress on a judicial remedy to slavery.

__Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)__ Post-abolition the court was still not in favor of minority interests. In the wake of vast segregation laws unrest grew in the African American community which was subject to the use of separate and inferior public accommodations. This was brought before the court after Homer Plessy decided to test a new law that required railcars to be segregated. Plessy took a seat in the Whites-only car and was subsequently asked to move and then arrested. Plessy then had the standing necessary to challenge the law in court. He argued that his Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection rights were violated by the segregation law. The courts decision to uphold the constitutionality of segregation gave birth to the separate but equal standard. The court found in examining the rail cars that the accommodations for African-Americans were equal to those for Whites and this allowed each race the same opportunity. This case was another setback to the fight for civil rights and would prolong the Jim Crowe era laws.

__Powell v. Alabama (1932)__ In the heart of the south during the high point of segregation and racial tensions 9 young African American men were the subject of a controversial trail that resulted in 8 death sentences. The Scottsboro Boys, as they would come to be known, were hitching a ride on a freight train when a fight with several white men ensued. The white men were thrown from the train leaving the boys on the train with 2 white women. The women then accused all 9 of the boys of raping them and they were put on trail in Alabama. The case what tried by an extremely biased jury was carried out very quickly and all of the boys were told they could not have access to a lawyer. With the help of activists groups the case was appealed to the Supreme Court and the convictions of the boys was overturned on the basis that their rights to Due Process were violated. This case was crucial in allowing African Americans to have the same rights in trial as whites. Although these rights were granted racist jury's and courts still influenced the cases of many African Americans.

__Brown v. Board of Education (1954)__ As the 20th century progressed so did the courts opinion on segregation. African Americans were able to accomplish more than ever but segregation was a huge hurdle preventing them from being able to achieve what white citizens could. A easily distinguishable example of this was the poor education that African Americans were offered at segregated schools. With the beginnings of the civil rights movement forming groups were able to collaborate and challenge these inequalities like never before. For years African American students had been trying to gain access to the better all white schools. This was often done by challenging the “separate but equal” doctrine. The Brown case came about when a class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of several students. The original court and the lower federal courts denied the rights for black students t o attend the white school, citing the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson which established the “separate but equal” rule. Once again the equal protection clause was being examined this time to decide if the exclusion of a person based on race from a public school was a violation. The court ruled that due to many different factors the separation of students based on race fostered inequality. The court also noted the effect that segregation has to the minority group mainly the feelings of inferiority that can effect how a child perceives their self.

The shrinking inequality in the rights that African Americans had increased racial tensions with those who did not agree with integration. This tension became violent and groups such as the Ku Klux Klan were using intimidation and the threat of lynching to attempt to suppress the African American advancement. Much progress towards legal equality was made but social inequality had remained constant. This combined with a lack of African Americans working in the justice system left many vulnerabilities that needed to be addressed.

**The 1960s**
The 1960s were an extremely tumultuous time for racial equality in the criminal justice system. During the entire civil rights movement, numerous peaceful protesters did time in jail for violating local segregation statues. An example of this occurred in June 1961 when nine freedom spent 30 days in prison after attempting to integrate an airport restaurant in Tallahassee. Despite the injustice in the criminal justice system still present during the Civil Rights movement, there were still many significant victories for equality. The first big victory cam in 1961 when James Benton Parsons became the first African American Federal judge in the history of the continental United States in 1961. A lot of major criminal justice victories of the civil rights era came through the Supreme Court. These major victories include:
 * // Johnson v. Virginia //, //1963//. Ford Johnson was convicted for contempt of court for refusing to sit in the courtrooms "negro" section. The Supreme Court ruled that Johnson could not be held in contempt for refusing to comply with an unconstitutional segregation policy. The injustice of segregated seating was finally outlawed in the impartial chambers of justice.
 * // Hamilton v. Virginia, 1963. // When on the witness stand to help determine the validity of hundreds of arrests during civil rights protests, Mary Hamilton was only referred to by her first name. She refused to answer any questions until she was addressed as "Miss" and shown the same respect as the white witnesses. The Supreme Court overturned her conviction, making it no longer legally acceptable to blatantly disrespect blacks in the courtroom.
 * //Loving v. Virginia, 1967.// Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter, an interracial couple, got married in the District of Columbia. Upon moving back to their home state of Virginia, they were arrested for violating a Virginia law banning interracial marriage. The Lovings challenged their conviction all of the way to the Supreme Court. The court ruled that the Virginia law, and the 17 other states laws like it, were unconstitutional. Citizens would no longer go to jail for marrying the person they loved because he or she was a different race.

**Rodney King Incident** Early in the morning March 3, 1991, Highway Patrol officers in Los Angeles, California, attempted to pull over a driver for speeding. Rodney King, a 26-year-old black man named tried to evade the officers to avoid arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol. He was eventually stopped by several police cars after a high-speed pursuit. King got out of the car and the officers used physical force to force him to the ground. Instead of arresting him, the officers continued to kick and beat him with wooden batons, causing severe injuries. Officers then restrained his arms and legs and dragged him to the side of the road to await emergency medical treatment. Mr. King suffered a fractured facial bone, broken right ankle, and multiple bruises and lacerations. A local resident was awakened by the beating and filmed the violence using a personal video camera from his apartment. He contacted police but received little information about what he had witnessed and decided to take the footage to the media. Local News broadcast the video in its entirety, creating a sensation and making police brutality a national issue. The incident, which might have been ignored if not for the video evidence, would result in both civil and criminal trials and a period of city-wide violent unrest. media type="youtube" key="sb1WywIpUtY" width="420" height="315" align="center"

The officers involved in the beating were arrested and charged with assault. In 1992, more than a year after the beating, a jury of mainly whites acquitted most of the officers. Immediately following the acquittals, a crowd of 300 began protesting at the Los Angeles County Courthouse. Additional protests at the police department and other locations escalated to looting, vandalism, and violent assaults. Widespread fires and heavy looting continued throughout Los Angeles. Police and the state national guard organized a response by the afternoon, and Mayor Bradley imposed a city-wide curfew. Television news helicopters broadcasted much of the riots. Police and California national guard troops responded, but state officials sought federal help. Many national guard and military troops flowed into Los Angeles over the next two days and the violence was finally under control. The curfew was eventually lifted, but scattered violence continued for several days and the city maintained a military presence for weeks. The riots resulted in 58 deaths and more than $1 billion in property damage. This incident and the ensuing riots heightened race relations across the country and brought police brutality against blacks to the front of national political debate.

The Reconstruction Amendments
Slavery was a significant part of the conflicts that gave rise to the Civil War. The following amendments are called the Reconstruction Amendments because they were passed right after the Civil War in order to establish equality for people of color especially former slaves.
 * __13th Amendment__ (1865)- This amendment formally abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for a crime. It gave freedom to all slaves and also meant that no one could be forced to work against their will as slaves had been doing.
 * __14th Amendment__ (1868)- This amendment granted full citizenship to all those born or naturalized in the United States and also grants all persons equal protection under the law as well as due process. This amendment overturned the //Dred Scott// decision which stated that no slave or descendant of a slave could be a citizen or could have ever been a citizen and on that basis, he had no standing to sue or seek legal remedy in court. All persons regardless of race or whatever distinguishing factor were given equal protection under the law meaning that all persons had equal access to the courts and must be treated fairly under the law.
 * __15th Amendment__ (1870)- This amendment gave the right to all citizens to vote. As it had already been established through the 14th amendment, that all person born in the United States are citizens, this amendment prevented the denial of any person's right to vote based on their race, color, or whether or not they were a freed slave.

Racial Inequality in Incarceration
Despite the Reconstruction amendments and many court precedents set to make all persons equal under the law, people of color still suffer racial discrimination today.There is a great disproportion in the incarceration, death sentences, and arrests made of people of color versus white people. The mass incarceration of people of color has really damaging effects of them and their communities. A criminal record makes is difficult for reintegration into society by limiting holders from opportunities such as voting rights, employment, education, housing issues, and so on. Incarceration keeps people of color from their families for long periods.
 * Statistics show that while the United States has 5 percent of the world's population, it accounts for 25 percent of the world's prisoners. Although people of color account for only 30 percent of the U.S. population, they make up 60 percent of those incarcerated. One in every 15 African American men and 1 in every 36 Hispanic men are incarcerated in comparison to 1 in every 106 white men. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reveal that one in three black men can expect to go to prison in their lifetime.

Contributing Factors in Racial Inequality
Some of the contributing factors to why people of color are incarcerated at a higher rate than white people include crack vs. power cocaine laws, strict "war on drug policies", and inner city crime resulting from social and economic isolation.
 * Studies show that sentences for crack possession exceed those for powder cocaine. Although scientific knowledge proves that crack and powder cocaine are nearly similar on a molecular level, offenders charged in possession of 1 gram of crack are given the same sentence as those charged with 18 grams of cocaine. The sentencing disparities were a lot higher until 5 years ago. In 2012, the Fair Sentencing Act enacted by Congress reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and cocaine from 100:1 to 18:1. Equally important, 12 percent of U.S. adults report using cocaine while 4 percent report using crack, yet crack users face more punishment than cocaine users. These unfair sentencing practices targets poor people, a majority of whom are minorities.


 * The "war on drugs", studies show that 14 million Whites versus 2.6 million African Americans report using illicit drugs, yet African Americans are incarcerated for drug offenses 10 times the rate of Whites. Data shows that the reasons for arrests of blacks have decreased for violent and property crimes and increased for drug related crimes as the chart below shows.



Police Brutality Cases
1083 Americans have been killed by cops this year. However, only less than one percent are indicted in the killings while the indictment rate for citizens is 90 percent. Officers instead either go on temporary administrative leave with pay and return to the force later or resign. It is important to note that there are police brutality cases that involve white people as well. However, there are several more that involve people of color and there has been a rise in such cases, many of which have captured the nation's attention. Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant, Amadou Diallo, Tamir Rice, and Walter Scott are all black men that were killed by police. Such incidents have resulted in many riots and movements across the country. The Black Lives Matter Movement began in 2012 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin Case to advocate for the rights of black people.

Poverty is a possible explanation for why there are many cases involving black people. High-poverty neighborhoods have an increased risk of crime and therefore Police Officers patrol such areas more often. Such neighborhoods are usually occupied by people of color, mostly African Americans and Hispanics which may be why they are involved in a majority of incidents. In addition, officers may be practicing racial profiling in traffic stops or stop and frisks, targeting people of color more than their white counterparts.

Some of these cases bring into question whether racial bias is the cause of these killings especially since some of the deceased were unarmed. Police brutality shows inequality in the criminal justice system because justice is never served. Despite numerous videos and pictures released by bystanders, eyewitness testimonies, and even videos from police cameras, officers are rarely indicted and even when indicted, are almost never found guilty. In most of these cases, the officers claim that they were the victims and acted in self defense. The actual victim is portrayed as a "thug" or drug dealer or something negative in efforts to most likely assassinate his or her character and to justify why the officer's actions were necessary under the given circumstance. For example, days after Michael Brown's death, the Ferguson Police Department in a press conference mentioned that he stole some cigarillos from a corner store and threatened the owner, but when asked by a reporter if Brown was stopped as robbery suspect, the police chief mentioned that the stop which led to Brown's death had nothing to do with the robbery. Brown was stopped because he was walking in the middle of the street and blocking traffic. The police chief's actions led many wondering that if indeed those two events were not connected in any way, why did the police chief have to mention it during the press conference and why was the store surveillance video released to the public the same time the name of the officer involved was released.

These recent cases have resulted in a lot of riots across the country which have lasted for weeks. Some of these riots have been so dangerous that, curfews were set and schools were closed due to the threat to public safety. In some cases like in the Baltimore Riots, the National Guard was brought in to assist the local police department. A lot of these riots were caused by the frustration of communities whose loved ones had been murdered by police over and over again. These riots have been able to push for some changes but there is still a long way to go. For example, all police departments have been receiving funding to purchase body cams. Some police departments have also pushed for diversity in their departments.

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__**Sources**__
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