Despite all the progress the criminal justice system has made over the years, there will always be flaws due to humanity. Humans will never be perfect, making this the biggest downfall of any operation involving people. In any given situation, there is a decision made to later have an outcome. Depending on the decision and how the situation is viewed, the outcome may be good or bad.
Out of the countless systems that America has, the criminal justice system has the most complication. Many judges, lawyers, and even prisoners have views on how to improve the criminal justice system but, to be able to pin point the problems of the criminal justice system you must discern what the causes are. Most would say that the problem with the prison system is the overcrowding. A few says the sentencing causes chaos in the criminal justice system. I believe that one or the main problem with the criminal justice system is the sentencing. Many of the prisoners are incarnated for petty drug charges or unfair sentencing as a consequence the prisons is overpopulated and causes confusion. The Three Strikes and you’re out policy will have the
With millions of criminal convictions a year, more than two million people may end up behind bars(Gross). According to Samuel Gross reporter for The Washington Post, writes that also “even one percent amounts to tens of thousands of tragic [wrongful conviction] errors”(Gross). Citizens who are wrongfully convicted are incarcerated for a crime he or she did not commit. Many police officers, prosecutors, and judges are responsible for the verdict that puts innocents into prison. To be able to get exonerated many wait over a decade just to get there case looked at, not many are able to have the opportunity of getting out. People plead guilty for crimes that are not committed by them to avoid trial, but by doing so the right decision wasn’t made.
One way the American criminal justice system is not just is when people are wrongly convicted of crimes. Although people in the system may not do this on purpose,
Many wrongful convictions are due to mistaken eyewitnesses, jailhouse snitches, or false evidence. I think many of the wrongful convictions could be solved with harder evidence, more information. A case should not rely on a single eye witness but multiple. For those in prison, those who snitch saying the defendant confessed, testifying can be a bargaining chip; the state will often reduce sentence time or
Famous American cereal killer, John Wayne Gacy, had murdered and raped 33 adolescents, many of whom were teenagers, the justice system made sure this man could never do this again. The public is turning a blind eye to the many contributions the justice system makes, we should look at not only how we can reform, but how it contributes to society The justice system creates many contributions to society, such as the safety it provides for children and their chances of exploitation, the many instances where they convict dangerous individuals therefore creating a safer environment for the present and future of society, and the fact it provides all citizens of the public and private sectors, to have the right to a fair, speedy, and public trial,
Today our justice system has a multitude of options when dealing with those who are convicted of offenses. However, many argue that retributive justice is the only real justice there is. This is mainly because its advantage is that it gives criminals the appropriate punishment that they deserve. The goals of this approach are clear and direct. In his book The Little Book of Restorative Justice, Zehr Howard (2002), illustrates that the central focus of retributive justice is offenders getting what they deserve (p. 30). This reflection paper will first address the advantages of using retributive justice approach in three court-cases. Second, it will discuss the disadvantages of using retributive justice approaches by analyzing the three court-cases listed above. Third, it will elaborate on ways that the system could have used restorative justice processes in the cases, as well as present potential outcomes that could have been reached if restoration justice was taken into consideration.
Being convicted of a crime that you had nothing to do with must be the most frustrating feeling in the world. Although I had already started a previous research paper, my interest and attention was caught when I viewed an in class video by the name of The Farm: Angola, USA. There were two individuals named George Crawford and Vincent Simmons whose case caught my attention. George Crawford and Vincent Simmons case sounded a little sketchy in my opinion, and the thought of them being wrongfully convicted came to my mind. Although my paper is not about them, their stories inspired me to research about wrongful convictions and exonerations. There are still people who have been convicted 30 years and more, and are still in prison because of how
How would one end up as an innocent man on death row? A man by the name of Edward Lee Elmore has been convicted and found guilty of burglary, rape, and murder. Elmore was a lower-class black man who lived in Greenwood, Carolina. He was a quiet, polite young man, and worked odd-end jobs to make ends meet. In 1982, he was arrested for the murder of 75-year-old Dorothy Edwards, a friendly and loving woman who was well-known in the community. Elmore’s lack of objection or emotion convinced the people around him that he must be guilty.
This paper examines the media and its effect on crime and the criminal justice system. The media 's negative influence often makes an impact in the justice system. To see the type of influence the media has on the justice system, let 's examine different cases. Media involvement can change the outcome of a case. The power of the media in the system justice is mostly negative. Before the media becomes involved with a case, the media needs to determine if the case will be worth their time. The negative influence of media comes in the form of their ability to convict a person using their influence as a media outlet. The media will tend to exaggerate a case to make the story more compelling and get people 's attention. That type of system of
Manufacturing Guilt Wrongful Convictions in Canada, Second Edition, is relevant to the course I am taking Social Inequity and Justice because, like my course this book discusses and examines sociological approaches to social inequity in regard to race and ethnicity and how it effects these groups and their lives. Manufacturing Guilt Wrongful Convictions in Canada, Second Edition is about innocent people that spend many years behind bars, wrongfully committed for crimes they did not commit. When someone is wrongfully convicted, they are being punished for an offence they did not commit and to make matters worse the actual perpetrator of the crime goes free. Many people that do get exonerated their applications take years in the federal review
There are three components that make up the criminal justice system – the police, courts, and correctional facilities – they all work together in order to protect individuals and their rights as a citizen of society to live without the fear of becoming the victim of a crime. Crime, simply put is when a person violates criminal law; the criminal justice system is society’s way of implementing social control. When all three components of the criminal justice work together, it functions almost perfectly.
In 1994, Congress passed the Truth-in-Sentencing Incentive Grants law. Truth-in-Sentencing laws were put into place to help reduce the possibility of an inmate being able to have early release from incarceration. Each state has their own policies, rules and regulations for inmate release. The truth-in-sentencing law requires that offenders serve the majority of their prison sentence imposed by the court in order to be eligible for release. Previous policies included reducing the amount of time the offender served on a sentence, such as good behavior, earn time, and the parole board made a decision to release an inmate. These policies were restricted or stopped when the truth-in-sentencing law came into effect. Abadinsky, Howard, Probation
Wrongful convictions are one of the most worrisome and tragic downsides to the Canadian Criminal Justice System. As stated by Campbell & Denov (2016). “cases of wrongful convictions in Canada call into question the ability of our criminal justice system to distinguish between the guilty and innocence” (p. 226). In addition, wrongful convictions can have devastating repercussions on the person, who was found guilty, effecting their personal/public identities, beliefs and family lives. This essay will be examine some of the common factors that apply to the conviction of an innocence person. Also, whether the CJS is doing enough to inhibit wrongful convictions and finally, the problems that parole can cause for a person maintaining their innocence.