Americas Justice system

Flaws in America's justice system are not hard to come by. With incarceration rates off the charts, new prisons being built at a higher rate than new schools and criminal cases with bogus outcomes, America's justice system looks like it is in serious need of some reform. First let's start with America's insane incarceration rates. The U.S. only makes up about five percent of the world's population. That being said, 25 percent of the world's prisoners are imprisoned in America. We incarcerate our citizens at the greatest rate of any nation on earth. We also tend to imprison minority races, particularly black men, much more often than any other race. In 2008, young, black males were six times more likely to me imprisoned than young, white men, according to statistics provided by Population Reference Bureau. This shows complete racial disproportion among all United States prisons. An issue that is seen often in the courts are plea bargains. A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor and defendant where the defendant pleads guilty to a charge less serious than the one he/she is in court for in the first place. By doing so, they get dismissed from other charges that have higher punishments. Guilty Plea bargains concluded 97% of all federal cases in 2011, according to a study by the Wall Street Journal. Plea bargains allow criminals to get off on more lenient charges than they really deserve. Another flaw in the American justice system has to do with criminal cases and attorneys. By law, the court must provide a public defender for criminal defendants who can't afford private attorneys. Public defenders work for the government, are underpaid and often overworked. If you are wealthy, chances are you will be able to afford a private attorney who has a good reputation and will do all that they can to lessen charges or help you plead innocence. A recent case in Texas involving a wealthy teenage boy killing four people in a