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Taylor Silman

Dr. Angela Mitchell

UWRT 1104: The Individual Research Essay

20 November 2017

Criminal Justice System Effects the Nation

Corruption, the concept of dishonesty involving those in power. Within our society,

corruption inside our Criminal Justice System is affecting the way we act, talk, and function in

our everyday lives. Corruption affects the media, it changes the hearts of many, and it affects our

nations family. We hear and read about the horrible corruption cases that occur in our system on

the news, social media, and more. We process and take in that our own Criminal Justice System

weakens our own nation and we start to realize the actual cause of the many problems in our

society today. Considering the effects of this so-called corruption, why does it occur? What

makes people act so malicious? As we unravel this critical inquiry concept, will corruption ever

end?

In our society today, our Criminal Justice System is working to keep our nation secure,

consequently; our system is affecting the lives of many in both a positive but also negative way.

The goals of Criminal Justice in a democracy is to control crime by enforcing the law and

protecting the rights of individuals. Displayed throughout our nation, our police force which

involves both the federal and state agencies tries to prevent crime as much as possible. The more

they protect, the safer people feel but problems start to occur. The Criminal Justice system is a

social system made up of three major components including the police system, the court system,

and the correctional system (The Criminal Justice System). These three major components

would also be considered interdisciplinary. Disciplines involved include biology, sociology,

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psychology, chemistry, history, social work, political science, and the list goes on. Each

component or subsystem has specific functions and rules they must follow in order for the

system to function properly. All subsystems work together and intertwine with work to help the

system function efficiently. Also, the system works as a system of checks and balances. Each

subsystem has a specific role in which each role is shared and communicated among the others.

The Criminal Justice system not only helps mold our country, but it tries to reflect key American

values. As you may have heard already, the FBI is one of the most popular agencies in the

Criminal Justice System. Each agency deals with their own type of crime where they have

jurisdiction over certain areas. For example, ATF, a federal agency, deals with Alcohol,

Tobacco, and Firearms. Another example would include the DEA, which involves the

investigation of drugs. I have mixed opinions about these federal agencies because they help

keep our nation secure, but they also involve corrupt officials that ruin the country. Now even

though they all fall under one main goal, to prevent and deter crime, they all also share a

common characteristic of corruption and acting in a malicious behavior.

Throughout history, our nation has implemented many laws, established codes, and has

written many documents to fortify our nation into a strong, structured country. Through our

Criminal Justice System, many laws and documents back up the system that helps build a strong,

organized system. The Bill of Rights, a list of amendments that consists of individual liberties

that puts prohibitions on governmental power, is a great legal document involving the system.

For example, the sixth amendment to the United States as David Bodenhamer explains in his

article states In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and

public trial... (Bodenhamer 3). The correlation between this amendment and the Criminal

Justice System is that it involves the court systems, a major component in the Criminal Justice
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System. As we dive deeper into cases where corruption exists in the system, well talk about

cases involving the court system. Well uncover corrupt Judges, court officials, and other key

figures that play a vital role in the system along with real life situations/ stories. As we

discovered a key element that is synonymous with the Criminal Justice System, well look back

on this amendment and compare it to corruption cases dealing with the court systems. As this is

only one amendment that correlates with the system, many more tag along.

Growing up, I always believed the system did right. They were always abiding by the

law, everyone working for the system was lawful and loyal, and the system was never shown to

be corrupt. But as we live in a society where racial tensions still exist, discrimination roams

around, and people arent being treated equal, it creates a question as to what is keeping these

problems going. What is causing so much chaos in our society? As many more questions arise,

many answers start to form. Chris Coons and Thom Tillis, two United States Senators, speak

their opinion on the matter as they state, We share a strong belief that Americas criminal

justice system is broken (Coons, Tillis). Not only I, but Thom Tillis and Chris Coons believe

that our own criminal justice system is corrupt or broken as they state. They go on to explain

how our system focuses too much on criminalization and incarceration rather than rehabilitation.

They describe how juveniles and other offenders are being treated unfairly. They exaggerate that

the system is in desperate need of reform involving the changing from focusing on harsh and

cruel punishments to rehabilitation. Both Thom Tillis and Chris Coons explain children

shouldnt be locked in solitary confinement cell for 23 hours a day, or housed with other

prisoners twice their age and size, or unnecessarily restrained and shackled for minor infractions,

or harshly punished for low-level, nonviolent offenses (Coons, Tillis). I understand both

Senators statements concerning the opinion over the matter and I agree to a certain extent. Yes,
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I do agree that this sort of punishment/ behavior is making the system broken. I believe that

criminals should be punished for their criminal behavior but shouldnt receive unnecessary

punishments including people with minor offenses. Not everyone learns and changes from the

harsh and cruel punishments given to them by the CJ system, therefore; Coons and Tillis

opinion seems logical. As we see corruption being defined inside the correctional component of

the Criminal Justice System, we must consider the other two components of the system to get a

better opinion about the question of Is the Criminal Justice System corrupt?

In April of 1991, the FBI took down numerous corrupted officials from the sector of the

Court system. The FBI took down a County Judge, an Illinois state senator, a Chicago alderman

and two others for all kinds of crimes including bribery, extorsion, and fixing official decisions.

Marcy, an alleged mobster who is also the secretary for the 1st Ward Regular Democratic

Organization, was accused of helping fix two murder trials, including one involving a mob

execution, as well as another trial involving an attempted murder as Lawrence Quinn explains

in her newspaper article FBI Corruption Probe (Quinn 2). Its crazy to read about because no

one would think that our own Criminal Justice System would involve corruption. You wouldnt

think that people would act so mischievous as to affect the lives and actions of others. You

wouldnt think that people who risk their own career as well as affect others in the process to

better themselves. You wouldnt think that corruption would exist in a system that controls and

prevents crime from happening. Its also humorful because the FBI, a federal agency working

under the Criminal Justice System, investigated and took down other elected officials who also

work under the Criminal Justice System. Even though the Criminal Justice System has a

reputation for corruption, not all people under the system are corrupt. As I have only read and
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seen a couple of cases where corruption was pursued, how many other cases are there that

havent been discovered? Do you think that corruption roams everywhere in the system?

We watch the news and listen to the stories concerning the police force and civilians. We

listen to the stories where countless lives are being affected by the unlawful practices of the

police force. We tune in to understand that our own police force is acting illicit. One of the main

questions is, why? In the summer of 2014, Fred Watson who is a veteran and St. Louis native

was playing basketball at a public park. He notices and spots a police officer roaming the park,

randomly selecting people and arresting them as Watson states from Matthew Schwartzs NPR

article on Fred Watson (Schwartz). Watson finished playing basketball and went to watch a

baseball game in the area watching from his car. As the match continued, Watson saw the same

cop who was randomly arresting people pulled up behind him. He goes on to explain how the

cop came up to him and told him to give him personal information, to get out of the car, and the

police officer even asked him why he pulled Watson over. Considering Watson has been in his

car for 15 minutes stationary watching a baseball game, he knows something is up and starts to

fear. As Watson disobeyed and feared for whats to come, the police officer began to yell and

scream at him. Watson explained that the officer yelled I can kill you right here! Nobody will

give a f*** while he was still in the car with both hands on the steering wheel not making any

sudden moves (Schwartz). Moral of the story, the officer violated many laws and rights when

dealing with Watson. He ended up arresting Watson and filing many charges against him. As a

result, Watsons life was drastically affected even though he did nothing wrong. He ended up

losing his job and becoming homeless. Its horrible to read that terrible cases like Watsons could

impact his life so greatly. He went from having a wonderful, high paying job to becoming

homeless with no job. The unlawful and malicious acts of the police force can have a dramatic
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effect on countless lives. Dealing with corruption, many cases like this one continue to occur

daily effecting hundreds of lives. As the officer broke many laws and rights, his life wasnt as

affected as Watsons ones.

Corruption, involving the dishonesty of those in power, continues to control our society

today. From racial tensions to selfish acts, there are many reasons as to why corruption occurs in

the system. As we hire and hire more people into the system, will we be able to contain their

malicious behavior? Will we able to figure out a way to stop the hiring of corrupt people? From

riots to protests, why hasnt our nation done more to prevent such acts from happening? With

many cases involving the malicious acts and corrupt behavior of many, will it ever stop?
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Works Cited

Bodenhamer, David J, and James W Ely. The Bill of Rights in Modern America. Project MUSE,

Indiana University Press.

Coons, Chris, and Thom Tillis. America's Criminal Justice System Is Broken. CNN, Cable News

Network, 9 Jan. 2017.

Quinn, Lawrence R. FBI Corruption Probe: Chicago Judge, Politicians Charged with Fixing Cases in

Operation Gambat. JSTOR, American Bar Association, Apr. 1991.

Schwartz, Matthew. City Of Ferguson's Dropped Charges 'Just Another Step' Amid 'Systemic

Failure'. NPR, NPR, 17 Sept. 2017.

The Criminal Justice System, The National Center for Victims of Crime. Accessed 5 November 2017.