African American Criminal Justice System Analysis

Imagine having to leave your home at the last minute. Where would you go? Millions of immigrants worldwide ask themselves the same question. Most of them choose America. When they arrive what do they expect? A world where everyone receives justice? How can there be justice for all in America when the Criminal Justice system is biased? Approximately 80 years ago, the same kind of discrimination was present in America’s Criminal Justice system. Even though America has come a long way since Jim Crow laws, the legal system has yet to provide justice for all.

The first reason that many see as proof of how the justice system has failed is how long people coming from other countries have to wait to get a hearing. According to Trac Immigration,

“African Americans are frequently illegally excluded from criminal jury service,” The Huffington Post explained. This piece of evidence justifies that black people are often excluded from jury time on cases. Another issue is how rare trials are for African Americans. Of the African American cases, only three to five percent of cases get a trial, the rest get plea bargained (The Huffington Post). This shows how the majority of African Americans never have a trial. In the 1930s nine African American boys, otherwise known as the Scottsboro nine, were unjustly accused of a crime they did not commit. One of the reasons why these trials were so unfair was because African Americans could not serve on the jury. The American Constitution Society reaffirms that, “Southern lawmakers soon stopped passing explicitly discriminatory jury service laws but continued empaneling all-white juries during the late 19th ...Centuries.” Strictly speaking, if you were African American you could not be a juror. The “land of the free” has yet to provide a criminal justice system free from

According to Justice At Stake , “An ideal bench is representative of the larger community, including women, persons of color, members of the LGBT community, persons with disabilities and other underrepresented groups.” However, the verdicts that the courts pass can still be biased and unfair. Other opinions may include the fact that Jim Crow laws are now illegal. “1968 officially ended the ability of any state to discriminate, disenfranchise, or otherwise restrict any individual on the basis of race,” George Washington University stated. Nonetheless, movements like #blacklivesmatter and #PassERPA (End Racial Profiling Act) disagree. They believe that there is still much racial profiling and racism all around. Overall, the problems that are still happening throughout America outweigh the good that we are trying to do.

Although America is free from Jim Crow laws, the legal system still has some work to do before it provides justice for all. The average wait for immigrants awaiting a hearing is close to 30 months. The American Criminal Justice system is prejudice and unfair. Though situations are very different from the 1930s, America still has a diluted version of their problems today. After reading this, if you were describing America to someone who lived halfway across the world, would you say that our legal system truly provides justice for