The role racism and discrimination have in Mr Ward’s situation

The role racism and discrimination have in Mr Ward’s situation

The role racism and discrimination have in Mr Ward’s situation was the denial of the Aboriginal Australians’ rights to be treated with fairness and justice as equal as the Non-Aboriginals when it came to the criminal offence. Mr Ward experienced institutional racism since the beginning of the drunk driving arrest until the death in the unventilated prisoner transport. Institutional racism can be referred to as “particular and general instances of racial discrimination, inequality, exploitation, and domination in organizational or institutional contexts” (Stokely and Hamilton 1967). Three significant parties led to the tragedy, which are Laverton police, Justice of the Peace and GSL officers. Foremost, the over-policing of Laverton police against Mr Ward for drunk driving on the dirt track was a sign of discrimination towards aboriginals. Mr Ward was further discriminated when he was denied for bail which the Laverton police refused to comply with the law and lost the right to have legal representation. On the other hand, the JP (Justice of the Peace) did not serve the justice that should be acted with fairness as he did not hold a hearing first with the presence of Mr Ward before briefed by police to ensure the truthfulness of the report. The action symbolized a sign of disrespectful as judicial personnel towards the minorities. Nevertheless, institutional racism can be seen when the GSL officers gave inhumane treatment to Mr Ward during the journey to Kalgoorlie. They were indifferent about Mr Ward’s condition in the unventilated vehicle that caused him to death due to heatstroke. The GSL drivers were not arrested by police as immediately as the way they treated Mr Ward; instead, they were interviewed and were acquitted without facing any charges. These incidents showed the severity of prejudice and discrimination against aboriginals in the community that cost a precious life.