Coleman 1

Taylor Coleman

Professor Debra Jizi

UWRITE 1104

11 November 2017

Double Entry Journal

Citation:

Bobo, Lawrence D., and Victor Thompson. Unfair by Design: The War on Drugs, Race, and the
Legitimacy of the Criminal Justice System, 2006, pp. 3,4,5,12.

Source: Quote (Page# or Responses

Paragraph #)

68 percent of whites expressed Its no surprise that people have

some or a lot of confidence different experiences from

in the police compared to a different perspectives. However,

mere 18 percent of blacks. this can become an issue when

Thus, whether focused on the people refuse to acknowledge

general character of the this, especially in political

criminal justice system or entities such as the police,

specific sectors of itsuch as courts, and judges.

judges and the courts,

prosecutors, or policeAfrican

Americans by large margins

see a system suffused with

 Coleman 2

racial bias, and most white

Americans do not. (Page 12)

In another set of questions in How could someone look at a

the 2001 RCPO study we asked this statistic and see the outcry

respondents from the African-American

about their perceptions of community on the media and

criminal justice bias in the simply dismiss their concerns?

courts and Is it truly plausible that over half

police. A sizeable 89 percent of of African-Americans could

African American affirmed the simply be lying or over-reacting

idea that about their life struggles?

the criminal justice system is

biased against blacks, as

compared to

38 percent of whites, a

difference of some 51 percent

points. Fifty-six

percent of whites, on the other

hand, felt the criminal justice

system

gives blacks fair treatment,

compared to only 8 percent of

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blacks. (Page 12)

Jurist and legal scholar A. Leon I think many people, most often

Higginbotham argued that caucasians, often regard the true

American law once overtly history of how our country came

embraced a precept of to be. Many people would like

inferiority with regard to to much rather not talk about the

blacks, a precept that we dark times, how our country was

suggest continues to exert built from the inhumane labor of

discernible effects even into the slavery. Many people would

present day. Accordingly, the much rather talk about the ideals

United States legal system was of the founding father, ideal of

organized so as to presume, liberty and freedom. People who

protect, and defend the ideal of stand by this point arent

superiority of whites and the entirely wrong, they just dont

inferiority of blacks. In realize that, that promise was

application, this precept has not not intended for everyone.

remained fixed and unchanged.

(Page 4)

According to sociologist and Why does the U.S. have such a

legal scholar David Garland, much larger prison population

the mass imprisonment society than most countries and why are

has two features: first, a rate the American people not more
 Coleman 4

of imprisonment that is concerned? Could there be

markedly above the social pressure to keep large federal

research historical and prisons filled to save the

comparative norm for societies governments money? Does our

of this type and second, the country use prison as a form of

social concentration of corrections, or as an industry for

imprisonment effects, such profit?

that incarceration ceases to be

the incarceration of individual

offenders and becomes the

systematic imprisonment of

whole groups of the

population. (Garland, 2001b:

5-6) (Pages 3 and 4)

Distinguished legal scholar I feel that this could stand as

Randall Kennedy (1997) has proof for why some Black

traced two historic patterns of communities feel the way they

race bias. The first, unequal do towards the police. Its

protection by the law, points to wrong for people to dismiss

times and conditions when these claims when theyve never

blacks could not rely on the experienced them. Just because

police or the courts to protect somethings not happening to

 Coleman 5

them from predation by whites. you doesnt mean its not

The second historic pattern of happening to anyone else.

bias, unequal enforcement of

the law, identifies the unusually

harsh or capricious treatment

that would await blacks

suspected or accused of a

crime. (Page 4)

These practices have resulted Again, if we claim to be a

not country that stands for liberty

only in the vastly and justice for all, then its

disproportionate incarceration important to listen to all people

of African Americans, when they come forth with a

but also now threaten the all- problem. Dismissing the

important legitimacy and claim troubles of others shows that the

to fairness ones who could make the most

that should be a hallmark of change, would rather not be

legal institutions in a bothered unless its in their line

democratic society. (Page 5) of interest. Without any real

changes, America remains

hypocritical to its own values.