Criminal Justice And Capital Punishment

“The fate of millions of people—indeed the future of the black community itself—may depend on the willingness of those who care about racial justice to re-examine their basic assumptions about the role of the criminal justice system in our society.” This quote from Michelle Alexander gives realization that our justice system is not perfect. While sentencing people to death may seem like the best option when in morn, we neglect the fact that innocents is still at hand. This goes in regards to the presumption of innocence, stating that one is innocent until proven guilty. Too many acquitted individuals have fallen to capital punishment, claiming the lives of more than 1,200 innocent people. With witness misidentification and false confessions
minorities have a higher chance of becoming guilty to a crime they did not commit. While the ongoing racial injustice within our country continues to fuel the flame, we must take into consideration the inequities of the criminal justice system, revenge instead of logic and that with every being should come life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Current U.S. death row population shows that 42% of those victims of death row were African American while 13% were Latino. While many of the people facing capital punishment are undereducated, underprivileged and a minority, those who are well educated, rich and white have a higher chance of receiving life or even the chance of parole. Now taking into consideration when speaking about incomes, a family with a member who has committed a crime can pay a high bail, giving them the opportunity to dress accordingly for their court hearing. While those who cannot afford to pay bail, must sit in jail, the way they came, with an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs around their hands and feet. Being a judge and jury in either court rooms you can image the two different perspectives given to each individual for the exact same crime committed. Among racial groups, African Americans have the highest poverty rate of 27.4 percent. With the high percentage of African American victims of death row, you may understand why. Too many have an exploration of racial fears due to the racial injustice and media perspectives, perceiving that African Americans, or minorities in general, are cold hearted killers. Well when presented to the court in the attire given and the already superficial individuals within the court room, the ruling is most likely going to be guilty without the right amount of evidence suggested because revenge instead of logic had taken place. When in morn of a loved one, it is easy to point fingers to those who look in the wrong.
As human we tend to crave revenge when we have been hurt, but when doing so we only hurt others ultimately repeating the circle of hate. While, at the time, capital punishment seems like the most justice thing to do it often brings us back to our sense of morality. Everyone has a different perspective on morality and the ethics that come along with that. While some choose to use theirs in difference is not how you practice; revenge heals you for a time being but the guilt of punishing a person to death row and later finding out they were innocent could haunt you for a lifetime. As we claim the lives of individuals who are innocent due to unconscious racial beliefs and stereotypes, racism continues to exists and the justifications are granted due to media reports that depict what they want to portray. While those in power can state that capital punishment is merely devoted crime control it eventually has no effect, especially when claiming innocent lives. Ultimately, it comes down to the disruption of every human desiring a life with liberty and the pursuit of
happiness. Those will argue that punishment is due to the same degree to those who commit as to those who fail victim, but when wrongfully subjecting those who are innocent that should not be the case. While the media highlights those works that depict minorities as being negative to our society we neglect the fact that these people are trapped in the criminal justice system, never to escape. When executing those, who are not guilty you are stripping away their ways to a life, family and happiness. The one life that was chosen for them has been taken away due to lack of credible investigators, racial injustice and the perspective of others on their race. Capital punishment has no deterrent effect in regards to crime. Power in regards to death is as much a media problem as it is a legal one to minorities. Nevertheless, capital punishment treats humans as if they are not, allowing the media and people of society to do the same. We evaluating circumstances one may argue that our forefathers sanctioned death when protecting the people but if that is the statement than slavery was once legal as well. We have come farther than the framers of the U.S. could have imagined so why the death penalty still a question? As I have stated, those who approve the death penalty believe that there should be dire consequences when dealing with the murder of another individual.
Now if this is true, then why are many white police officers who have killed unarmed black men walking free with nothing more than the loss of their job? Because within our criminal justice system we have the inability to hold those legally accountable with regards to race and uniform. When speaking in terms of uniform I don’t just mean those who are police officers, but also those who hold government power and even well known, millionaire stars. These individuals have something that the undereducated, low income people do and that’s money. Money is what fuels the injustice within the system and continues to corrupt those who hold power, denying that there is a fault in the system that’s why it hasn’t been
reformed. “Like Jim Crow (and slavery), mass incarceration operates as a tightly networked system of laws, policies, customs, and institutions that operate collectively to ensure the subordinate status of a group defined largely by race.” Another quote by Michelle Alexander explains exactly what I mean in regards to racial injustice in regards to the death penalty. Death is easily desired when those believe the case deserves capital punishment, but when this mind set is effortlessly conceived the lives of innocent humans are put at stake. Not just minorities but those of all races. It should be taken into deliberation that those 14 states without the death penalty have homicide rates below the national rate, showing that although it is believed to reduce crime is essentially does the opposite. With regards to income almost all death row inmates could not afford their own prosecutor at trail, exemplifying how unfair the penalty is to lower-class, undereducated citizens. With statistics showing that much of death row inmates have been executed for killing white victims, that doesn’t explain that African Americans make up half of all homicide victims, showing that the death penalty is racially bias. In conclusion, we need to take into consideration the discriminations within the criminal justice system, recognize revenge vs logic and that with every being life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is what is desired the most.