With few exceptions, the “criminal” has never been viewed as a noble person. Instead they are viewed as someone, or if they are dehumanized enough then something, that has committed a wrong against society. Being convicted or even accused of a crime can have a negative impact on a person. A mere accusation can damage their reputation, and enter them into police information systems, while a conviction may also disqualify them from jobs, government programs, and even voting. These consequences make association with crime undesirable, both because of their power and reach. The stigma of criminal creates the power for the government to marginalize undesirable groups. This stigma allows laws to be passed that make otherwise outrageous practices …show more content…
Michelle Alexander demonstrates in her book The New Jim Crow that systemic criminalization extends to other minority groups as well. The extent of this criminalization is shown through the control the criminal justice system exerts on minority lives. Alexander shows in The New Jim Crow that 1 in 3 young African American men are under the control of the criminal justice system through jail, prison, probation, or parole (9). Additionally, black men are 6 times more likely than white men to be incarcerated, and Latino men are 2.5 times more likely to be incarcerated than white men (Coalition on Homelessness, 56). The increased exposure to the criminal justice system that black and Latino men face not only threatens their future through the establishment of a criminal record, but it also reinforces ideas that black and Latino men are more criminally disposed than white men. These stereotypes only push black and Latino men with criminal records further away from the mainstream economy by making their applications for jobs and housing appear less attractive. These stereotypes also extend to people who do not even have criminal records, which marginalizes entire minority groups. This loss of influence comes from a variety of factors, mainly lower wages, a lessened ability to vote because of criminal
Crime, Citizenship, and the Court’s analyzation of Incarceration, Inequality, and Imagining Alternatives have revealed the prevalent racial profiling that exists in the African American community. Bruce Western emphasizes the prominent levels of incarceration in minority neighborhoods elaborating on the negative effects that these rates have on families, communities, and lifestyles. He reiterates that “incarceration deepens inequality because its negative social and economic effects are concentrated in the poorest communities” (Western, 297). When we analyze Fox News media portrayals of Martin, we could begin to understand why African Americans change their methods of transportation, clothing, and routines. These men adapt to the reality of racial profiling in fear that one day, they may contribute to the high incarceration rates within their communities.
In Michelle Alexander’s talk, she described how discrimination becomes legalized once individuals become branded as a felon. As a result of a felony conviction, tons of offenders lose their right to vote, right to serve on jury, right to be free on legal discrimination regarding housing, and access to education. These restrictions connect to the systems of privilege, as it reinforces the stigma against felons while the social power of law enforcement agencies rises. The systems of privilege get maintained with the use of social control. According to statistics that Alexander gathered, African American males were the ones mostly affected by the felon disenfranchisement laws.
In 2010, author Michelle Alexander wrote the truly insightful book, The New Jim Crow. Throughout the book, Alexander displayed that by targeting African American men through the War on Drugs and racial biases within communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system is still functioning as a modern day system of racial control while hiding behind colorblindness. The New Jim Crow is an eye opening account of how African Americans are still being denied the very rights supposedly won from the Civil Rights Movement and makes one think about the modern day racial stigmas African Americans are facing. Although there has been many reforms to America, stigmatization is a still growing problem within the African American community and the lasting
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Alexander, M. (2012). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (Rev. ed.). New York, NY: The New Press. Michelle Alexander in her book, "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" argues that law enforcement officials routinely racially profile minorities to deny them socially, politically, and economically as was accustomed in the Jim Crow era.
We live in a society where ethnic minorities are target for every minimal action and/or crimes, which is a cause to be sentenced up to 50 years in jail. African Americans and Latinos are the ethnic minorities with highest policing crimes. In chapter two of Michelle Alexander’s book, The Lockdown, we are exposed to the different “crimes” that affects African American and Latino minorities. The criminal justice system is a topic discussed in this chapter that argues the inequality that people of color as well as other Americans are exposed to not knowing their rights. Incarceration rates, unreasonable suspicions, and pre-texts used by officers are things that play a huge role in encountering the criminal justice system, which affects the way
In Invisible Men, Becky Pettit introduces the theory that many Americans are seemingly “invisible” due to the fact that most national surveys, such as the Current Population Survey do not include incarcerated persons which lead to skewed statistics that are misrepresentative of the United States population. Pettit argues that the exclusion of inmates from national surveys creates discrepancies in United States economic, political, and social conditions. Further, Pettit argues that mass incarceration has hidden racial inequalities for many years. Throughout Invisible Men, Pettit develops her argument by presenting numerous examples that show how the rising incarceration rate has lead to the invisibility of African-American men in our current society.
Michelle Alexander, similarly, points out the same truth that African American men are targeted substantially by the criminal justice system due to the long history leading to racial bias and mass incarceration within her text “The New Jim Crow”. Both Martin Luther King Jr.’s and Michelle Alexander’s text exhibit the brutality and social injustice that the African American community experiences, which ultimately expedites the mass incarceration of African American men, reflecting the current flawed prison system in the U.S. The American prison system is flawed in numerous ways as both King and Alexander points out. A significant flaw that was identified is the injustice of specifically targeting African American men for crimes due to the racial stereotypes formed as a result of racial formation. Racial formation is the accumulation of racial identities and categories that are formed, reconstructed, and abrogated throughout history.
Even before our nation’s founding, people of color have been discriminated. Decades pass and the criminal justice system is still “racist” labeling people of color as criminal, meaning black equal criminals therefore is fine to discriminate people of color just because they’re criminals. In “The New Jim Crow” the system targets black men because they are associated with crime, meaning crime stands in for race. In the other hand, As Heather Mac Donald writes in her book “The War on Cops”, “The criminal-justice system does treat individual suspects and criminals equally, they concede. But the problem is how society defines crime and criminals” (154).
There are specific laws and stereotypes that continue to be upheld by society, which specifically work against the favor of black men. The issue of predominantly black areas
In America, criminal justice has been an issue for generations. People are convicted of crimes and their convictions are oftentimes based on their race and/or social status. Unfortunately, it is a reality that the criminal justice system privileges those who are “rich and guilty rather than if they are poor and innocent. Many African American men and women have suffered due to this. In the book Just Mercy and the movie 13th, both sources give great examples of how the criminal justice system continues to overlook the truth to keep black Americans incarcerated.
Coker gives great evidence that supports racial injustice in the criminal justice system. She discusses on the Supreme Court’s rulings and accusations of racial preference in the system. This article is helpful because it supports my thesis on race playing a role on the system of criminal justice. Hurwitz, J., & Peffley, M. (1997). Public perceptions of race and crime: The role of racial stereotypes.
The occurrence of a hate crime can create an atmosphere of fear and mistrust, leading to decreased feelings of safety and security. This can lead to an increase in tensions between different racial and ethnic groups, as well as a decrease in social cohesion and overall trust in the community. The impact of hate crime can also be seen in the public policy arena. Hate crimes are often used to justify policies that discriminate against certain groups or to justify oppressive or exclusionary practices. This can further exacerbate existing inequalities and undermine progress toward greater social justice and
In the criminal justice system, the corrections component is also responsible for the rehabilitation of the convicted individual. It is their duty to attempt to make the defendant a productive member of society once again. Based on the individual’s behavior while incarcerated, the court and corrections officials may decide to place them on parole, which ensures that the individual will comply with the rules of society once they are fully released from the system. The criminal justice system is an essential role in the organizational structure of not only the United States but also in countries around the world. If there were no criminal justice system to administer punishment, the world would be unstructured, disorganized, unjustified, cruel, and not to mention a chaotic place for it citizens.
(McLaughlin,Muncie and Hughes 2003:144) writes "a Labourer is 14 times more likely to go to prison than a professional" this emphasizes my point showing how corporate criminals challenge the ideas of conventional criminals as they tend to be well-educated and are not perceived as potential criminals in society. Understanding a conventional crime and the criminal who has committed it, is straightforward however the same can not be said for corporate crimes. Corporate criminals are usually individuals of upper socio-economic class who are well educated and violate the criminal law by breaching the trust placed upon them during their business activities (Whyte,2009:187). The corporate criminal challenges the conventional definitions of a criminal who is perceived to be “ignorant and stupid” and are instead “deceptive and suave”(Whyte,2009:187). An example of this is Jordan Belfont a smart, suave business-man who managed to makes millions with his illegitimate business activities, such criminals are portrayed as intelligent and cunning who do not present a direct threat to the public.
As far as crime is concerned, it is defined by the law. Deviance is unexpected behaviour, but not exactly considered criminal. Many consider crime as a social problem – a problem as defined by society, such as homelessness, drug abuse, etc. Others would say crime is a sociological problem – something defined as a problem by sociologists and should be dealt with accordingly by sociologists. This essay attempts to discover the boundaries between these two and ultimately come to an appropriate conclusion.