Racial Discrimination in the Judicial

System

I would like to share a public service announcement on the discrimination that is being
seen in our judicial system today. Everyone in the St. Louis, Missouri area remembers
the 2014 Michael J. Brown Jr shooting and the rioting that resulted in this police officer
shooting. We need to remember that Michael J. Brown is not the only unarmed African
American that was killed by a Caucasian police officer. Eric Garner from New York was
standing on a street corner and was placed into a choke hold by a police officer. Eric
was heard saying, “I can’t breathe”. Eric died as a result of this choke hold. Laquan
McDonald from Chicago IL was shot and killed by a police officer during a burglary
investigation. Tamir Rice was only twelve years old when he was shot and killed by a
Caucasian police officer. The police officer was investing a man with a gun police report
however it was Tamir who was playing with a toy gun. He was shot and killed only mere
seconds after the police officers arrived on the scene. These are just a few individuals
who were killed in 2014 alone either police office shootings or violence resulting in
death from a police officer. These individuals were the start of the discrimination of
African American and individuals of color from Caucasian police officers who were
currently serving the judicial system at the time of the incident. While this is just a
handful of persons of minorities who lost their lives with police involved shootings, we
need to come together to stop this killing.

While the killing of individuals by persons of authority is the worst thing imaginable,
there are other discriminations on minorities that need to be brought to light. The Black
Lives Matter movement has brought awareness to this huge disparity by videotaping
and publicizing some of the harassment they receive from police officers, or other
people in the justice system. While this movement is still highly controversial, the
recordings have shed light on some of social injustices African Americans face every
time they are convicted of a crime, and brought awareness to a very troubling issue
within the justice system. According to a report from the New York City Police
Department, African Americans and Latinos were stopped more frequently than
Caucasians, but Caucasians were more likely to be found with weapons or illegal
substances. To put this sentiment into a statistical perspective, even though African
Americans and Latino people only made up about 4.7% of the population in New York
City, they accounted for 47.6% of stops in 2011, and were found innocent 90 percent of
the time. “Our analysis demonstrates the alarming extent to which the NYPD is targeting
innocent black and brown New Yorkers”, NYCLU Associate Legal Director Christopher
Dunn said. “In nearly every police precinct – black and white, high crime and low crime
– black and Latino New Yorkers are stopped and frisked at a far greater rate than
whites” (NYCLU).

Unsurprisingly, they are also searched more often than Caucasians. After the death of
Michael Brown, an investigation was completed on the police department based on
multiple complaints on racial bias and discrimination. The investigation found that from
2012 to 2014 African Americans were twice as likely for their vehicles to be searched
during traffic stops. They were also more likely to receive multiple citations versus
Caucasian drivers. (US Department of Justice, 2015). In North Carolina, they found that
African Americans were searched twice as often as whites, and again, were more likely
to find illegal substances when the driver was white rather than black. Not only that, but
officers were more likely to use physical force if the driver was black, even if force was
not necessary (Lafraniere). With these facts in light, it becomes clear that African
Americans are often treated as criminal even if they have not committed a criminal act.
Not only are police officers often biased against African Americans, but judges are also
guilty of this discrimination. According to a study by David Penn, there is also racial bias
in criminal sentencing. During his study, he found that the gap between African
Americans incarceration rates and Caucasian Americans incarceration rates is very
high; this conclusion is based on finding that the judges treat the defendants differently
based on race, even if they are convicted for the same crime, and that African
Americans receive sentences 10% longer than Caucasians. These statistics shake the
foundation of our justice system; How are people supposed to be able to trust it if it
does not treat everyone equally? Stopping and frisking, pulling over, and, in extreme
cases, arresting individuals on the basis of being “suspicious” is not lawful behavior, yet
goes on daily. This injustice leads to a divide between African Americans and
Caucasians in terms of incarceration rates; in the most basic terms, nonwhite people
are simply more likely to end up in prison while white people are more likely to walk
free.

The time is now to make the change! Everyone regardless of race, color, age or where
you live needs to take action and work together to stop the discrimination and the
senseless killings. Together, we can make the change!

Unsurprisingly, they are also searched more often than Caucasians. After the death of
Michael Brown, an investigation was completed on the police department based on
multiple complaints on racial bias and discrimination. The investigation found that from
2012 to 2014 African Americans were twice as likely for their vehicles to be searched
during traffic stops. They were also more likely to receive multiple citations versus
Caucasian drivers. (US Department of Justice, 2015). In North Carolina, they found that
African Americans were searched twice as often as whites, and again, were more likely
to find illegal substances when the driver was white rather than black. Not only that, but
officers were more likely to use physical force if the driver was black, even if force was
not necessary (Lafraniere). With these facts in light, it becomes clear that African
Americans are often treated as criminal even if they have not committed a criminal act.
Not only are police officers often biased against African Americans, but judges are also
guilty of this discrimination. According to a study by David Penn, there is also racial bias
in criminal sentencing. During his study, he found that the gap between African
Americans incarceration rates and Caucasian Americans incarceration rates is very
high; this conclusion is based on finding that the judges treat the defendants differently
based on race, even if they are convicted for the same crime, and that African
Americans receive sentences 10% longer than Caucasians. These statistics shake the
foundation of our justice system; How are people supposed to be able to trust it if it
does not treat everyone equally? Stopping and frisking, pulling over, and, in extreme
cases, arresting individuals on the basis of being “suspicious” is not lawful behavior, yet
goes on daily. This injustice leads to a divide between African Americans and
Caucasians in terms of incarceration rates; in the most basic terms, nonwhite people
are simply more likely to end up in prison while white people are more likely to walk
free.

The time is now to make the change! Everyone regardless of race, color, age or where
you live needs to take action and work together to stop the discrimination and the
senseless killings. Together, we can make the change!

Unsurprisingly, they are also searched more often than Caucasians. After the death of
Michael Brown, an investigation was completed on the police department based on
multiple complaints on racial bias and discrimination. The investigation found that from
2012 to 2014 African Americans were twice as likely for their vehicles to be searched
during traffic stops. They were also more likely to receive multiple citations versus
Caucasian drivers. (US Department of Justice, 2015). In North Carolina, they found that
African Americans were searched twice as often as whites, and again, were more likely
to find illegal substances when the driver was white rather than black. Not only that, but
officers were more likely to use physical force if the driver was black, even if force was
not necessary (Lafraniere). With these facts in light, it becomes clear that African
Americans are often treated as criminal even if they have not committed a criminal act.
Not only are police officers often biased against African Americans, but judges are also
guilty of this discrimination. According to a study by David Penn, there is also racial bias
in criminal sentencing. During his study, he found that the gap between African
Americans incarceration rates and Caucasian Americans incarceration rates is very
high; this conclusion is based on finding that the judges treat the defendants differently
based on race, even if they are convicted for the same crime, and that African
Americans receive sentences 10% longer than Caucasians. These statistics shake the
foundation of our justice system; How are people supposed to be able to trust it if it
does not treat everyone equally? Stopping and frisking, pulling over, and, in extreme
cases, arresting individuals on the basis of being “suspicious” is not lawful behavior, yet
goes on daily. This injustice leads to a divide between African Americans and
Caucasians in terms of incarceration rates; in the most basic terms, nonwhite people
are simply more likely to end up in prison while white people are more likely to walk
free.

The time is now to make the change! Everyone regardless of race, color, age or where
you live needs to take action and work together to stop the discrimination and the
senseless killings. Together, we can make the change!