cultural concerns in the criminal justice
Christian Guerrero
In the United States of America we all rely on what the constitution reads, which is like constantly listen to our parents through our journey in life. Our system works in a way that there should be equality among every individual but the power given to some of our leaders whether they work in senate, courts or jail, can go to their head and the system shakes a bit. Culture is one of the issues we face in society, the US is a diverse country but this difference can affect our justice and administration and how it’s practiced. Courts often seek for alternatives when sentencing defendants convicted of hate crimes. Many times individuals who commit a crime for the first time act out of ignorance or low self-esteem when they commit hate crimes. Many juveniles commit crimes such as burning crosses and scrawling offensive graffiti on public buildings which are considered to be hate crimes against religion and society. Many of these individuals are required to take diversion courses which teach them about their behavior, these courses cover racism, anti-Semitism and civil rights laws, offenders by the end of the course should have an understanding of why their behaviors are considered discriminatory and inappropriate. According to the non-profit Sentencing Project racial inequalities exist during sentencing proceedings. There was a research conducted by this group regarding cultural inequalities in criminal sentencing. An interesting fact of this research was the finding of how a criminal case decision is influenced through racial aspects. For instance, juries in some states tend to recommend the death penalty for homicide defendants accused of killing a white person. In trials, many times prosecutors seek the death penalty in those racial cases that involve white victims. A new study by M. Marit Rehavi of the University of British Columbia and Sonja B. Starr of the University of Michigan Law
In the United States of America we all rely on what the constitution reads, which is like constantly listen to our parents through our journey in life. Our system works in a way that there should be equality among every individual but the power given to some of our leaders whether they work in senate, courts or jail, can go to their head and the system shakes a bit. Culture is one of the issues we face in society, the US is a diverse country but this difference can affect our justice and administration and how it’s practiced. Courts often seek for alternatives when sentencing defendants convicted of hate crimes. Many times individuals who commit a crime for the first time act out of ignorance or low self-esteem when they commit hate crimes. Many juveniles commit crimes such as burning crosses and scrawling offensive graffiti on public buildings which are considered to be hate crimes against religion and society. Many of these individuals are required to take diversion courses which teach them about their behavior, these courses cover racism, anti-Semitism and civil rights laws, offenders by the end of the course should have an understanding of why their behaviors are considered discriminatory and inappropriate. According to the non-profit Sentencing Project racial inequalities exist during sentencing proceedings. There was a research conducted by this group regarding cultural inequalities in criminal sentencing. An interesting fact of this research was the finding of how a criminal case decision is influenced through racial aspects. For instance, juries in some states tend to recommend the death penalty for homicide defendants accused of killing a white person. In trials, many times prosecutors seek the death penalty in those racial cases that involve white victims. A new study by M. Marit Rehavi of the University of British Columbia and Sonja B. Starr of the University of Michigan Law