Criminal Justice Essay

Submitted By vanessiab
Words: 980
Pages: 4

When one thinks about the American justice system, one has to think about the four disciplines that make up the American justice system. That would be criminal justice, investigations, legal studies, and security information management. All of these disciplines go hand in hand. The justice system would not work without the criminal justice system because one needs a system that detects crimes and who causes them. The system also has a need for those who defend people who commit those crimes. There is always a need for investigations, because if there was no one to investigate, there could not be a discovery of a crime or who cause it or the reason for the crime. The last important part of this justice system would be the security. There is always a need for security. Security is needed for the regular mom and pop all the way up to the nation’s capital. If there is no security in place, then the very core of this nation is threatened. This is self-evident from the horrific attack of September 11, 2001. What happened on September 11? The most unthinkable crime happened on September 11, 2001. Americans were attacked, but not only that the nation of America was attacked.
On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Often referred to as 9/11, the attacks resulted in extensive death and destruction, triggering major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defining the presidency of George W. Bush. Over 3,000 people were killed during the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., including more than 400 police officers and firefighters. In the wake of so much destruction one has to wonder why these people did this. Why did they launch an attack so devastating that not only did it destroy lives and lives attached to those live? This devastating incident changed how a country operates its justice system forever. Why did Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda attack America? They say they were retaliating because America continued to support Israel, they say America participated in the Persian Gulf War, and lastly they say they were tired of America’s continued presence in the Middle East. In addition to this Osama Bin Laden take on all of this is that he and Al Qaeda were defending their religious beliefs of Islam. They believe that America is tyrant and that she must be destroyed according to their book of faith the Koran. According to Osama Bin Laden, he did what he did for the cause of Islam and his people who are Islamic. He did what he did in the name of religion.
From Al Qaeda’s perspective they felt they had a right to attack the United States, but what they did created issues for the American justice system. To start with from the criminal justice standpoint, the Al Qaeda committed numerous crimes. They hijacked, stole, and committed murder. All of these crimes are violations of the American Justice system. From the standpoint of a crime committed, these criminals are to be charged, detained, and if found guilty punished. The crimes committed on September 11 are also an issue for legal studies. If someone one is charged with a crime in this country, by right they can hire a lawyer. If they cannot hire a lawyer a lawyer will be assigned to them. This is the t type of country America is even the accused has the right to defense counsel. It something called due process in this