Injustice In The Criminal Justice System

The goal of the United States Criminal Justice System is to deliver justice for all. Justice meaning to convict and punish those who are guilty while protecting those who are innocent. On many occasions, the Criminal Justice System has failed to reach this goal by doing the opposite of its purpose and serving injustice. The justice system fails when it allows false arrests, malicious prosecutions and denial of a speedy trial to innocent people. Injustice is an important issue in the United States because it negatively affects the lives of those involved. The effect of a failed justice system causes innocent people to feel the “heartache of having missed so much of life” after serving time for a crime they did not commit (Baca 567). They become

The major problem with injustice today is that it leads to the false arrests of innocent people. If the person convicted has been proven innocent after serving time it is the state's obligation to pay that victim a fixed amount per year. Money is a great way to compensate victims of false arrests for their wasted time, but it cannot buy them that wasted time back. Compensation will not allow them to re-experience the lost years with their families, spouses, and children. It also does not make getting a new job easier or adjusting to a changed world after

According to Dana Ford, Kalief Browder spent three years behind bars without being convicted of a crime. Browder was arrested at age sixteen and charged with second-degree robbery. In 2013, he was released because the charge got dropped. Before getting arrested, Browder lived the life of an average teenager. Browder's attorney Paul Prestia described Browder as being a bright, humbling and humorous person. While incarcerated he attempted suicide at least six times because of the physical and emotional abuse he experienced. He spent most of his time in solitary confinement that may have led to his newly developed mental illness. In an interview with Headline News Browder says he had no mental illness before going to jail. "I never tried to hurt myself, I never tried to kill myself, I never had any thoughts like that. I had stressful times prior to going to jail, but not like during jail. That was the worst experience that I ever went through in my whole life." Missing his sister's wedding, the birth of his nephew, high school prom and graduation took a toll on Browder even after his release. Prestia says that for Browder "Every day was a struggle. He lived with a degree of sadness every day since his release." Browder's depression led him to commit suicide at the age of twenty-two. Browder was a victim of injustice, had he been served with justice his life would have unfolded