Judicial System In To Kill A Mockingbird
The Judicial System of the United States has a history of prejudice against people of color. However, while circumstances have improved over the years, much of this prejudice is still prevalent in court systems today. These biases were largely addressed by Harper Lee in her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee’s novel focuses on the unjust trial of a black man in the 1930’s who is wrongfully convicted and killed. While prejudices today are not as extreme, black men are still subject to racial profiling by juries and are unfairly discriminated against within the Judicial System. Due to the discrimination by law-enforcement, black men are significantly more likely to be arrested than their white counterparts, leading to many problems later on in life. A recent study
…show more content…
found that “nearly half of all black males… in the U.S. are arrested by age 23, which can hurt their ability to find work, go to school, and participate fully in their communities.” These aftereffects result in a cycle of poverty, and a lower quality of life within African-American communities. The children of these communities grow up surrounded by this injustice and discrimination, and are “navigating the transition from youth to adulthood with the baggage and difficulties from contact with the criminal justice system.” Even as children, law enforcement still racially profiles and unfairly treats them. At such a young age, these children are exposed to prejudice, and taught to fear law-enforcement, rather than trust in them to protect us. Within courtrooms, everyone should be entitled to a fair trial, however, this does not always happen.
The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, harshly depicts the sad reality of this prejudice. “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s word, the white always wins” (295). Juries tend to stereotype African-Americans, and will consider them as less trustworthy and more violent than white people. These biases can influence the jury’s decision and increase the likelihood that they will find an African-American defendant guilty. The sixth amendment of the Constitution gives the right to a fair trial with an impartial jury, but in some cases, this is not always possible. As the character Atticus Finch says, “people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box” (259). Preconceived notions and prejudices of the jury can impact the verdict of a case, making the trial unfairly biased against an African-American defendant. Some people may argue that the court systems are “colorblind” and that everyone receives a fair trial, no matter their race. However, African Americans are incarcerated at almost 6 times the rate of white people, due to inherent biases and racism of the
jury.
found that “nearly half of all black males… in the U.S. are arrested by age 23, which can hurt their ability to find work, go to school, and participate fully in their communities.” These aftereffects result in a cycle of poverty, and a lower quality of life within African-American communities. The children of these communities grow up surrounded by this injustice and discrimination, and are “navigating the transition from youth to adulthood with the baggage and difficulties from contact with the criminal justice system.” Even as children, law enforcement still racially profiles and unfairly treats them. At such a young age, these children are exposed to prejudice, and taught to fear law-enforcement, rather than trust in them to protect us. Within courtrooms, everyone should be entitled to a fair trial, however, this does not always happen.
The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, harshly depicts the sad reality of this prejudice. “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s word, the white always wins” (295). Juries tend to stereotype African-Americans, and will consider them as less trustworthy and more violent than white people. These biases can influence the jury’s decision and increase the likelihood that they will find an African-American defendant guilty. The sixth amendment of the Constitution gives the right to a fair trial with an impartial jury, but in some cases, this is not always possible. As the character Atticus Finch says, “people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box” (259). Preconceived notions and prejudices of the jury can impact the verdict of a case, making the trial unfairly biased against an African-American defendant. Some people may argue that the court systems are “colorblind” and that everyone receives a fair trial, no matter their race. However, African Americans are incarcerated at almost 6 times the rate of white people, due to inherent biases and racism of the
jury.