ABSTRACT

The main purpose of this research is to focus on the use of excessive force by law enforcement agencies in reference to racial discrimination all over the United States of America and the criminal justice system it holds. The criminal justice system of America in the past or present shows great levels of injustice against the black community and other minorities living in the state. Apart from using excessive force, the minorities and the black community have also been targeted with wrongful convictions. The law of the United States says equality for all, but the law enforcement agencies and the justice system of America have allowed law enforcement authorities to target the innocent black community with excessive force and wrongful convictions. This research pointed out that “Black lives in the United States do not matter. ” This research focuses on the fact that the prison in different states of America is filled with more black people than white people even though the African Americans living in that community are in a much lesser number. The minorities, especially the African American males, are being targeted from the age of 18-36. The research focused on racial discrimination from the times of wrongful conviction, to the use of excessive force and the post imprisonment treatment. The hatred among the white community for the black community is deep-rooted from centuries, and the government is not doing anything to eliminate the racial disparity. At the end of this research mentioned are the recommendations/ suggestions that can be helped or used to eliminate racial discrimination not only for the criminal justice system but also among the people living in society.

INTRODUCTION

Critics of the criminal justice system show that the minorities and the African Americans’ imprisonment rate are higher than the other communities living in the United States. Although the country’s law does not have any racial discrimination, the people who are handling the criminal justice system tend to target the African American community more. The black people face racial disparities by the white juries and the white courtroom. The black community living in the US is being targeted even in the 21^st century. Not only the juries, the police officers violently victimize the black community and imprison them without any proof. (Mauer & Huling, 1995). One of the recent examples is George Floyd, who became the victim of racial discrimination.

According to a report, the number of black population living in California is 7%. Moreover, out of the 32% population of people imprisoned in California’s jail, 18% of the jail is occupied by African Americans. As the rate of crime is increasing day by day, the number of black people that are being imprisoned is also increasing. This research will provide pieces of evidence of the criminal justice system of America that will point out the fact the black people and the other minorities living in the United States face racial discrimination. (Schiraldi et al., 1996) Moreover, in the research, the solution to the racial bias will also be provided. The secondary data obtained from different resources shows that the black community living in America has been targeted for decades.

Racial discrimination is not only found during the arrest, but racial bias can also be seen in the post-sentence treatment. Even after the black people are arrested, they have to face different prison challenges just because of their skin color. The African Americans also become a victim of wrongful convictions; they are imprisoned for the crimes they did not commit, and in severe cases, it may even result in death penalties. The police and the other law enforcement agencies do not investigate the cases properly; they just blame any mishap on the black people. The criminal justice system of the United States targets black people; black people get to face severe sentences compared to the white community for the same crime. The death penalties and the imprisonment duration also vary for the blacks. (Petersilia, 1983)

By not following the criminal law properly, the US’s justice system is violating Article 2 and Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; these articles state that all the citizens must be treated equally under the law. (MULTILATERAL International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 2006). Even the cash bail for the black community is higher than the white community. The main racial disparity occurs at the time of making a decision by the jury. Racial discrimination is deeply rooted in the United States’ criminal justice system, and it will only be eliminated if the government takes proper measures to resolve this issue. (Petersilia, 1983)

Thesis Statement:

The major issue this research will point out will be the racial bias in the criminal justice system. How the police target the black community during the time of investigation? How the police deliberately arrest the black community? The fact that excessive force is used just to pinpoint the black community. How black people become a part of the wrong full convictions? Racial bias in jury selection, racial disparity during imprisonment sentence and death penalties, and how the black community is treated after being imprisoned?

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE: (3-4 pages)

Petersilia, J. (1983). Racial disparities in the criminal justice system(Vol. 2947). Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation.

In this research about racial disparities in the criminal justice system, Petersilia (1983) stated that racial disparities are common in the criminal justice system. Even though the law does not allow anyone to be treated differently just because of skin color, but racial disparity can be seen in the criminal justice system. According to the author, 48% of the total crimes in the US are committed by African Americans, whereas their total population in the country is 12%. Racial bias is not only found in the arrest rate but also in wrongful convictions, post-sentencing treatments, and the time the blacks spend in jail.

Schiraldi, V., Kuyper, S., & Hewitt, S. (1996). Young African Americans and the criminal justice system in California: Five years later. San Francisco: Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.

In this research, Schiraldi et al. (1996) mainly focused on the criminal justice system in California. Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice conducted research on the criminal justice system in California, 1 out of 3 African American was charged under some criminal activity. Later on, the author in the research pointed out that the jails in California have more black people imprisoned as compared to the white community. The main aim of the research was to point out that the prison sentence for the black community is one third more than that of the white community.

Bobo, L. D., & Thompson, V. (2006). Unfair by design: The war on drugs, race, and the legitimacy of the criminal justice system. Social Research, 73(2), 445-472.

Bobo and Thompson, in their research, discussed that during the past few centuries, the criminal justice system’s policies had sustained the link between the race and the crimes committed. The researchers have cited the fact that there is racial disparity in the justice system, and the black community is targeted no matter if it is on the war on drugs. The authors entered credible sources and evidences that how the black community is specially targeted in the criminal justice system on the war on drugs.

Hurwitz, J., & Peffley, M. (1997). Public perceptions of race and crime: The role of racial stereotypes. American Journal of Political Science, 41(2), 375-401.

In their research, Hurwitz and Peffley pointed out the stereotypes about the black community and how the attitude of the people is affected by the African Americans when it comes to crime. They also pointed out the issue of the link between the black community and the punishment for crimes. In their research, they also mentioned that the media is strengthening the link between the crimes committed and the race. Racial bias is introduced and strengthened with digital media, and the hatred among the people living in society also increased because of that.

Mauer, M. (2004). Race, class, and the development of criminal justice policy. Review of Policy Research, 21(1), 79-92.

Mauer has pointed out the issue in his research that vast racial discrimination can be found in the criminal justice system. Because of that, the criminal justice policies are also being affected. Mainly he pointed out that the criminal justice system and the law enforcement agencies are racially determined. Moreover, he pointed out the racial disparity is deeply linked with the crime response.

Oliver, M. B. (2003). African American men as “criminal and dangerous”: Implications of media portrayals of crime on the “criminalization” of African American men. Journal of African American Studies, 7(2), 3-18.

In his work, Oliver pointed out that in American society, African American men have been criminalized. She pointed out the media’s depiction of African Americans and how this is negatively affecting society. In her work, she described the negative stereotype of African Americans is affecting them in society. The media is outraging the arrests and creating hate towards the people. Now even the innocent African Americans are considered “Criminals,” and they are looked down upon as criminals in the society.

Robinson, M. (2000). The construction and reinforcement of myths of race and crime. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 16(2), 133-156.

Robinson has pointed out the issue of crime and race in his work. In his work, he said the crime rate committed by African Americans is more than that of white people. He said that the data of crime should not be accepted without proper investigation. Analyzes what he considers the three major myths regarding race and crime. He specifically critiques the myth that African Americans commit more crime than whites do and the claim that the criminal justice system is racially fair.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:

The capstone project’s main idea was to research the topic “Racial Bias in the criminal justice system.” In the criminal justice system, it can be seen that law enforcement agencies tend to target African Americans just because of their skin color.

African Americans have been targeted for decades, it is not a new thing, but the main idea evolved due to the recent events in America after the death of George Floyd. Although there is protest all over the United States, this incident could have been prevented from the start if the police were to do a proper investigation.

To support the thesis, the best research evidence is shown by the justice police report, which states that the African Americans and other minorities in the United States are imprisoned in more numbers than the overall population. The example shown in the research is of the Maryland prison that constitutes 76% of the African Americans, whereas the population of African Americans in Maryland is roughly 28%. Moreover, black people get imprisoned eight times more than white people do. (Kamalu et al., 2010)

The key images that this research will help will be for the commoners, the people who believe that the criminal justice system in the United States is fair. The research conducted will provide pieces of evidence from the secondary data about racial discrimination in the American criminal justice system. This research will show how African Americans are wrongfully convicted and how they have to spend the rest of their lives in prison just because of wrongful convictions. There are more black people in prison than white people; even the innocent ones are dragged in racial discrimination.

RESEARCH METHODS:

Different methods are used to collect data for a research project. These research methods are mainly divided into two categories based upon the methods for data collection:

Primary data collection.
Secondary data collection.

Primary data collection:

The primary data is the original data that is collected for the first time. The primary data collection method is a bit hard, but it is easy to analyze it. The primary data collection method includes three different strategies:

Interviews: The researcher in interviews takes face-to-face interviews and tries to research the topic in detail. Face-to-face interviews help the researcher clarify the questions, and he might get a useful response in return. The interview can be structured, or it can even be an informal conversation. A few drawbacks are using this approach; the data gathered can be in great volumes that it becomes difficult to analyze it, or the responder might get confused and distort the information.
Surveys/Questionnaires: Conducting a survey is another primary method for collecting data; it is more reliable and an easy way to collect the desired data. Written questions mostly with blanks or multiple choices are given to the respondents, and they have to fill in that survey/questionnaire. Survey forms can be done in both ways, wither in the hard copy or online. It is hard to analyze and gather the data in printed form, whereas, online surveys generate automatic results by using bar graphs or pie charts.
Observations: Observing a particular scenario can be time taking, but it will give authentic results. The situation is observed by the researcher, and later on, he analyzes the data.

Secondary data collection: The secondary data is the data that already exists. It is easily available and very inexpensive. The secondary data is available on peer-reviewed journal articles and is authentic, but it is difficult to analyze it. (Hox & Boeije, 2015)

Figure 1: Comparison of population

The pie chart mentioned above shows that the total white population of the United States is 86%, and 12% of the people are African Americans. 2% are the other minorities living in America.

The other pie chart represents the prison population of African Americans that is 48%, 50% of the white community are imprisoned in the US jails. However, 2% of the United States jails is imprisoned with the minorities. These reading clearly shows that the black community gets targeted everywhere in the US. Although they are 12% of the total population, almost half of the jail population in prison is the black community.

Figure 2: Arrest Vs. Incarceration in California’s prison

The graph above is about the arrest rate in California’s prison. The dark-filled part shows the total population; the horizontal lines show the percentage of arrested people, and the vertical lines show the prison population.

The total white people living in California are almost 53%, and the black community is 7%, but the arrest rate of black people is more than that of white people, which is equal to 18%. As stated in the graph, 32% of the total jail population is filled with African Americans. The racial disparity can be seen through this data graphs. Black people get targeted using excessive force everywhere in the United States law enforcement agencies wrongfully convict even innocent people.

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATION:

Discussion:

Racial bias in the criminal justice system of America can be seen in almost every state of America. The race in the US is badly affecting the criminal processes; the African Americans are being targeted at a base of their skin color. The prison of different states has more black people in them as compared to the white. Racial disparity is present in America since the last century, African Americans are not treated equally as the white people in the criminal justice system. Moreover, police and law enforcement agencies are using excessive force to put down African Americans. The recent victim of this excessive force was George Floyd; he became a victim of racial disparity by the hands of police and hence lost his life.

Apart from using excessive force, the one thing that was described in the research was a wrongful conviction. The law enforcement agencies and the police do not do enough investigation to look for the real convict. Instead, the black male aging between 18-36 becomes a victim of wrongful conviction. The black people, especially black males, get imprisoned for a specific period of time or the rest of their lives because of these wrongful convictions.

Moreover, the population rate of African Americans in prison is more than white people. The racial disparity can be seen in the time of imprisonment. The imprisonment sentence that blacks get to face is more time than the white people for the same crime. The American law states that each needs to be treated equally, but the criminal justice system and the law enforcement agencies’ actions are opposite to that.

On the other hand, media is playing its full role by spreading hatred among the people living in society. The media exaggerates the arrests of black people due to which the attitude of the people living in the same society tends to change towards blacks.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, a significant racial difference can be seen in the criminal justice system of America. The Americans like to stay “Equality for all,” but the criminal justice system and the police officers act otherwise. Young black men are still afraid of the police charges. They become a target of the criminal justice system at a very young age. The police officers use “Racial profiling” as the key factor to use excessive force and interrogate the black people. Race should not be the basis of imprisonment or punishment for any person. The law should treat everyone equally without considering racial bias. Different research has been conducted in the field of “racial bias in the criminal justice system” some of them stated that there are some factors that lead to the arrest of black people. On the other hand, most of the studies pointed to put the same issue. The direct target and directly victimizing the black community is affecting their mental health and putting them under severe pressure as the social behavior of the community members changes towards them. The black community is listed as “criminals,” whether they are involved or not. (Oliver, 2003)

Recommendation:

Following are the strategies, suggestions, or measures that can be taken to reduce racial bias:

Racial Diversity Secretariat should be established by the government with a mandate to give then annual reports on racism.
The government should enforce the criminal justice system and law enforcement agencies to treat every citizen equally.
The police officers and the criminal justice system should be strictly dealt with if any racial disparity issue is found in the annual report.
Many human laws are violated under racial profiling; the issue needs to be taken on an international level if it continues.
It is said, “Charity begins at home” as a responsible citizen of the state, we need to treat everyone equally. All humans need to be treated equally without any racial discrimination.

References:

Kamalu, N. C., Coulson-Clark, M., & Kamalu, N. M. (2010). Racial disparities in sentencing: Implications for the criminal justice system and the African American community. African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies: AJCJS, 4(1), 1.
Hox, J. J., & Boeije, H. R. (2005). Data collection, primary versus secondary.
Mauer, M., & Huling, T. (1995). Young black Americans and the criminal justice system: Five years later.
Schiraldi, V., Kuyper, S., & Hewitt, S. (1996). Young African Americans and the criminal justice system in California: Five years later. San Francisco: Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.
MULTILATERAL International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. (2006). Retrieved from https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%20999/volume-999-i-14668-english.pdf
Petersilia, J. (1983). Racial disparities in the criminal justice system(Vol. 2947). Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation.
Oliver, M. B. (2003). African American men as “criminal and dangerous”: Implications of media portrayals of crime on the “criminalization” of African American men. Journal of African American Studies, 7(2), 3-18.

Racial Bias in the Criminal Justice System

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