Examples Of Institutional Racism
Institutional Racism Within the Criminal Justice System in the U.S
Institutional racism is quite apparent in the U.S criminal justice system as not only the police force seem to be "institutionally" racist, but the judges too in certain states. Ian Haney. F Lopez defines institutional racism as being divided into “path and script racism: Path racism is directed racial status-enforcement influenced in an unrecognized manner by racial institutions. Script racism is undirected racial status-enforcement influenced in an unrecognized manner by racial institutions.”Lopez suggests that some judges in the state of California are institutionally racist, especially towards Mexican-Americans. Take for instance, “a transcript of a penalty hearing held …show more content…
before Santa Clara superior court judge Gerald Chargin in September 1969. The defendant, a seventeen-year-old Mexican-American boy, had pled guilty to the charge of incest with his fifteen-year-old sister, although he subsequently insisted that he was innocent and only plead on the advice of the counsel in order to avoid trial.”
Within the transcript, the judge is seen to be racist towards the defendant.
Here the judge deteriorates the defendant- “You are just an animal. You are lower than an animal. Even animals don't do that. You are pretty low. I don't know why your parents haven't been able to teach you anything or train you. Mexican people, after 13 years of age, it's perfectly alright to go out and act like an animal. ”
He then progresses on to state that the defendant's sister “will have half a dozen children and three or four marriages before she is 18”. And that they should send her “back to Mexico. You belong in prison for the rest of your life for doing things of this kind. You ought to commit suicide. That's what I think of people of this kind. You are lower than animals and haven't the right to live in organized society-just miserable, lousy, rotten people.”
The judge then makes a reference to Hitler by saying “Maybe Hitler was right. The animals in our society probably ought to be destroyed because they have no right to live among human beings.” Finally the judge states that when Mexicans “are 10 or 12 years of age, going out and having intercourse with anybody without any moral training-they don't even understand the Ten
Commandments.”
From this transcript above is is clear to see why Lopez would makes such a point that Judges discriminate against the Mexican-American community. In the transcript, Judge Charging indicts the whole Mexican race by saying "Mexican people, after 13 years of age, it's perfectly alright to go out and act like an animal." This sort of statement falls under path racism as the racial slurs used to dehumanise and degrade the Mexican race are direct, purposeful and rather than undirected. Throughout the transcript, Charging is seen to be racially prejudice towards the defendant and his family as he says that the the defendant sister “will have half a dozen children and three or four marriages before she is 18. The County will have to take care of you.” As you make your way down the transcript, it gets worse as Judge Charging then makes a reference to Hitler, stating that “Maybe Hitler was right. The animals in our society probably ought to be destroyed because they have no right to live among human beings.” It could show us the back in 1969, judges particularly in the L.A county were institutionally racist toward Mexican-Americans. Furthermore, even though "the evident nature of his racism, and wide public airing of his rant, Judge Chargin was not removed from service as a superior court judge."
But the judges racial slurs are not the only reason why Lopez labelled the judges in the county of L.A as institutionally racist. Los Angeles superior court discriminated against Mexican Americans in nominating grand jurors. For those judges who consciously held racially derogatory views, such views may have convinced them of the importance of close judicial control over the nomination of grand jurors, or, in any event, of the dangers of random selection. This show us that the Los Angeles Superior Court had institutionalised judges which is unjust as judges are not meant to be biased yet alone racist. The act of nominating friends or friends of friends as jurors highlights the fact that in the 1960s, judges were very much keen on retaining both social and political power and authority. In this way, the criminal justice system was institutionally racist.
Grand Jury Reform
Part of the criminal justice system needs to be reformed, and it does not just include the police force in the US, but the Grand Jury itself. Representative Henry Hank Johnson "responded to the calls that the nation’s grand jury system is broken when police are investigated for the killing of civilians". An example of whereby a civilian was killed by a police officer, was the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18yr old black teenager. The police officer who shot Brown, Darren Wilson, was not indicted and the shooting was deemed justifiable. In addition, "many accused McCulloch (the prosecutor), whose father was a white police officer killed by a black man, of a pro-police bias and called for his recusal from the case." This accusation could give us the impression that the prosecutor's decision, McCulloh, could have possibly been influenced by a personal experience, and if so, the decision to charge Darren Wilson was unjust. The purpose of the reintroduction of the Grand Jury Reform Act is "To provide that in the case of a law enforcement officer who uses deadly force against a person, and thereby causes the death of that person, a hearing shall be conducted before a judge to determine whether there is probable cause for the State to bring criminal charges against the law enforcement officer relating to the death of the person, and for other purposes." So I believe that the passage of the Grand Jury Reform Act will most certainly restore civilians faith in the the criminal justice system as Representative Johnson states that “People demand an end to what is perceived as unequal justice, and that those who are responsible for the use of excessive force be brought to justice" which is a statement I can totally agree with.
Institutional racism is quite apparent in the U.S criminal justice system as not only the police force seem to be "institutionally" racist, but the judges too in certain states. Ian Haney. F Lopez defines institutional racism as being divided into “path and script racism: Path racism is directed racial status-enforcement influenced in an unrecognized manner by racial institutions. Script racism is undirected racial status-enforcement influenced in an unrecognized manner by racial institutions.”Lopez suggests that some judges in the state of California are institutionally racist, especially towards Mexican-Americans. Take for instance, “a transcript of a penalty hearing held …show more content…
before Santa Clara superior court judge Gerald Chargin in September 1969. The defendant, a seventeen-year-old Mexican-American boy, had pled guilty to the charge of incest with his fifteen-year-old sister, although he subsequently insisted that he was innocent and only plead on the advice of the counsel in order to avoid trial.”
Within the transcript, the judge is seen to be racist towards the defendant.
Here the judge deteriorates the defendant- “You are just an animal. You are lower than an animal. Even animals don't do that. You are pretty low. I don't know why your parents haven't been able to teach you anything or train you. Mexican people, after 13 years of age, it's perfectly alright to go out and act like an animal. ”
He then progresses on to state that the defendant's sister “will have half a dozen children and three or four marriages before she is 18”. And that they should send her “back to Mexico. You belong in prison for the rest of your life for doing things of this kind. You ought to commit suicide. That's what I think of people of this kind. You are lower than animals and haven't the right to live in organized society-just miserable, lousy, rotten people.”
The judge then makes a reference to Hitler by saying “Maybe Hitler was right. The animals in our society probably ought to be destroyed because they have no right to live among human beings.” Finally the judge states that when Mexicans “are 10 or 12 years of age, going out and having intercourse with anybody without any moral training-they don't even understand the Ten
Commandments.”
From this transcript above is is clear to see why Lopez would makes such a point that Judges discriminate against the Mexican-American community. In the transcript, Judge Charging indicts the whole Mexican race by saying "Mexican people, after 13 years of age, it's perfectly alright to go out and act like an animal." This sort of statement falls under path racism as the racial slurs used to dehumanise and degrade the Mexican race are direct, purposeful and rather than undirected. Throughout the transcript, Charging is seen to be racially prejudice towards the defendant and his family as he says that the the defendant sister “will have half a dozen children and three or four marriages before she is 18. The County will have to take care of you.” As you make your way down the transcript, it gets worse as Judge Charging then makes a reference to Hitler, stating that “Maybe Hitler was right. The animals in our society probably ought to be destroyed because they have no right to live among human beings.” It could show us the back in 1969, judges particularly in the L.A county were institutionally racist toward Mexican-Americans. Furthermore, even though "the evident nature of his racism, and wide public airing of his rant, Judge Chargin was not removed from service as a superior court judge."
But the judges racial slurs are not the only reason why Lopez labelled the judges in the county of L.A as institutionally racist. Los Angeles superior court discriminated against Mexican Americans in nominating grand jurors. For those judges who consciously held racially derogatory views, such views may have convinced them of the importance of close judicial control over the nomination of grand jurors, or, in any event, of the dangers of random selection. This show us that the Los Angeles Superior Court had institutionalised judges which is unjust as judges are not meant to be biased yet alone racist. The act of nominating friends or friends of friends as jurors highlights the fact that in the 1960s, judges were very much keen on retaining both social and political power and authority. In this way, the criminal justice system was institutionally racist.
Grand Jury Reform
Part of the criminal justice system needs to be reformed, and it does not just include the police force in the US, but the Grand Jury itself. Representative Henry Hank Johnson "responded to the calls that the nation’s grand jury system is broken when police are investigated for the killing of civilians". An example of whereby a civilian was killed by a police officer, was the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18yr old black teenager. The police officer who shot Brown, Darren Wilson, was not indicted and the shooting was deemed justifiable. In addition, "many accused McCulloch (the prosecutor), whose father was a white police officer killed by a black man, of a pro-police bias and called for his recusal from the case." This accusation could give us the impression that the prosecutor's decision, McCulloh, could have possibly been influenced by a personal experience, and if so, the decision to charge Darren Wilson was unjust. The purpose of the reintroduction of the Grand Jury Reform Act is "To provide that in the case of a law enforcement officer who uses deadly force against a person, and thereby causes the death of that person, a hearing shall be conducted before a judge to determine whether there is probable cause for the State to bring criminal charges against the law enforcement officer relating to the death of the person, and for other purposes." So I believe that the passage of the Grand Jury Reform Act will most certainly restore civilians faith in the the criminal justice system as Representative Johnson states that “People demand an end to what is perceived as unequal justice, and that those who are responsible for the use of excessive force be brought to justice" which is a statement I can totally agree with.