The Reality of Social Justice System in America Essay

Submitted By NimzVII
Words: 920
Pages: 4
Open Document
The reality of the social justice system in America
We see what we want to see, and our reality is usually framed by what we see. So we can say that we have the power to control our reality as humans. If everyone that lived in the same society and environment has their different version of reality what then is the true meaning of reality? The only way for us as members of the same community, to have a somewhat similar, although not perfectly identical reality is by sharing with one another what we ‘see’.
According to the New York Times article U.S prison population dwarfs that of other nations, America is home to less than five percent of the world’s population but about one quarter of the world’s prisoners are in America. So this raises so many baffling questions to me. What makes America the number one achiever on this very shameful list? Do we have our own special definition for crime, or is it that our law enforcement agencies are the most hardworking; sniffing out every single crime that would rather go unnoticed in other nation states? Are we a population of natural born criminals, or do we live in a society that pushes people to into tight corners where one of their very few chances of survival is through illegal means? Do we have a society that places and uphold ridiculous standards that as inherently imperfect beings, very many are bound to fall below and are punished for it?
It is not surprising that of this huge population of prisoners in the United States; about seventy percent of them are people of color. The harsh reality is that the system under which the country operates has been intelligently designed to withstand the influences of modern day ethical principles and continues to promote oppression of the less privileged. We are supposed to accept responsibility for our actions, therefore bearing the consequences of our actions. But are we supposed to suffer for things we most times cannot control too, such as what race we are born as, or what state we happen to be residents of? It is not any coincidence that the poorest states in the country are the states with the largest incarceration rates. So it is safe to assume that the economic status of the state could be responsible for high crime rates that result in so many people being incarcerated. A resident of a state like Louisiana is born with a 0.85 percent chance of being incarcerated which is already ridiculously high but only to watch his chances more than double just because he is not Caucasian. What did this person do to deserve being born with this ill fate? Nothing!
Since I have had the opportunity to commence volunteering at the St Stephens Human Services center, my eyes have been opened to see a new reality. I have been given the opportunity to witness firsthand experiences on an aspect of this issue; therefore I can no longer dwell in the cutthroat bliss of ignorance. I have watched people with previous criminal records try actively to lead better lives. They come in everyday trying to get help with drafting resumes, looking for jobs, trying to gain knowledge and improve their skills to help them but the system is set up in a way that it is almost impossible for them to find jobs to provide for themselves or their families. This would serve as a plausible explanation for the fact that about forty percent of
Show More

Related Documents: The Reality of Social Justice System in America Essay

The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison Essay

first published his book in 1979; it is now in its sixth edition, and he has continued to revise it as he keeps up on criminal justice statistics and other trends in the system. Reiman originally wrote his book after teaching for seven years at the School of Justice (formerly the Center for the Administration of Justice), which is a multidisciplinary, criminal justice education program at American University in Washington, D.C. He drew heavily from what he had learned from his colleagues at that…

Words 1223 - Pages 5

America's Justice System Essay

The Criminal Justice System The United States criminal justice system is perhaps the most intricate process in the developed world. It consists of three parts; the legislative body (responsible for creating laws), corrections (responsible for imprisonment) and the court system. The legislative body is self-explanatory and the bulk of the legislative process is through Congress. The corrections division of the justice system is vital as it facilitates the punishments of the accused who are found…

Words 639 - Pages 3

Cheating In A Bottom-Line Economy Summary

As well as race, class disadvantage within American society leads to social injustice. The money bail system punishes the poor people of America. Consistently there are around 500,000 individuals that are in prisons, who are still assumed innocent and anticipating trial, since they are excessively poor, making it nearly impossible to pay money to get out on bail. In recent years, judges used to permit or allow a great deal of people, even poor individuals to be free while they were anticipating trial…

Words 1097 - Pages 5

Crime and Criminal Justice Essay example

|Course Title: Crime in America | |Course Prefix: |CRN 10343 |Course No.: 1123 | |Section No.: 001 | | | | |Department of…

Words 2989 - Pages 12

Incarceration In Prisons

cost of mass incarceration, the prison system costs now account for 1 out…

Words 598 - Pages 3

New Jim Crow Discrimination

scholar. In this book she focuses in on the legal systems that seem to be doing their jobs perfectly well but in fact just replaced one racial caste system with a new one. If you are not familiar The Jim Crow is a system that put black people nearly back where they began in a subordinate racial cast. This is a system that is still going on in society today, just because there are successful blacks like Barack Obama does not eliminate this system. The fact that blacks have reached a high amount of…

Words 941 - Pages 4

Rugmaker: Juror Essay

and ignorance, and justice is repressed by prejudice and egotistical motive. The fragile bias state of the American Justice System is exploited, and the warped, bigoted condition of society is exposed, as a 1957 New York jury is forced to decide the fate of a young, delinquent on trial for the murder of his hostile father, on a coinciding ‘hot summer afternoon’. ‘Twelve Angry Men’ exhibits the deluding powers of excessive emotion, compelling those affected to misconstrue reality, and repudiate their…

Words 1258 - Pages 6

Systematic Racism In The Criminal Justice System

attitudes, laws, and social institutions, which in turn have affected future generations. At this crucial…

Words 1207 - Pages 5

5 soical issues Essay

Karrieann Damon 07/01/15 SpEd 617 Prof. J. Sherer Five Social Issues: Equal Justice The continued fight for Equal Justice, is the over arching theme comprising of many social issues that I shall attempt to scratch the surface of in five issues for the purpose of this paper. Issues examined will range from race, class privilege, social mobility, and the fundamental inequalities in the American legal system and police behavior. Our system does not simply fail to live up to the potential of equality…

Words 1438 - Pages 6

Zoot Suit Essay

Zoot Suit I found myself growing an appreciation for Luis Valdez’s service in exposing to the world how corruption and discrimination are in fact a reality. In particular, certain scenarios from the play mirrored the real events that were occurring in different parts of the world and which were associated with injustice that transpired within the law system; hence,…

Words 649 - Pages 3