Taking all of the studies, background knowledge, and statistics into consideration, I do believe that there is an unproportionate amount of black men serving time in the criminal justice system. It has been proven that men of color are particularly likely to be imprisoned, in comparison to their non black counterparts. “African Americans serve virtually as much time in prison for a drug offense (58.7 months) as whites do for a violent offense (61.7 months). (Sentencing Project)” The sentencing of black men is commonly dealt with in a harsher manner, than with other races. 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
On April 22, 1992, three guilty criminals walked away innocent after committing heinous acts of aggression and assault. They were not punished after brutally beating an African American citizen after a meer traffic stop. This brutal act of racial profiling was forgiven in the name of systemic bias and societal attitudes towards racism and similar issues. The date in question is the day that the verdict of the Rodney King trial was released by the jury. The trial involved Rodney G. King a taxi driver who was pulled over for a traffic violation. After said violation, four nameless officers proceeded to beat the mostly compliant King. The savage act of police brutality was captured on camera. After such a crime, the four officers in question were
Treyvon Martin was a teenager who was unarmed, shot, and killed in Sanford, Florida. The incident happened on February 26, 2012. The officer who shot Martin followed Martin around outside when he then confronted Martin. They seemed to have some kind of argument, and then officer Zimmerman shot Martin in the chest. Zimmerman was questioned about his confrontation, where he pleaded self-defense. Zimmerman currently has no charges and is living a normal life. Martin’s friends and family then ask for recordings to be released to help find further evidence. The police do not release them. The case then goes to the state attorney after the police are finished with it. After the case goes to the state attorney, the police release the 911 recordings
Trayvon Benjamin Martin, born February 5, 1995, was an African- American high school student he was shot and killed on February 26, 2012, two houses down from his own. Trayvon was 17 when he died. Trayvon martin was walking home from the store 7 eleven on the night he was shot and killed. Trayvon carried a bag of skittles and an Arizona tea he was dressed in a black hoodie and was completely unarmed. Trayvon was heading back home to his father’s house that he had been staying with while he was suspended from school. George Zimmerman a 28-year-old Hispanic man called the police that night while driving in his SUV. He called the police and reported seeing “a real suspicious guy”, “a black male” walking around. That was
Trayvon Martin’s death was a tragedy. Emmett Till’s death was a tragedy. These deaths have similarities to the extreme. The biggest difference is the 56 years which separate them. Both of these incidents revealed darknesses inside of our great country. These darknesses have been long hidden and need to be brought to light just as they did in 1956.
The tragedy of Trayvon Martin happened February 26, 2012, in Stanford, Florida. Seventeen-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman. Martin’s death led to a dispute between the state of Florida and George Zimmerman. Prosecutors in this case accused Zimmerman of racially profiling Martin. The defense took the position that George Zimmerman was using self-defense to protect himself from harm’s way. Even though the death of Trayvon Martin has become a well-known tragedy throughout the states, there have been some positive outcomes. The controversy of the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case revolved around Zimmerman's alleged act of racism and his claim of self-defense.
African Americans constitute nearly 1 million of the total 2.3 million incarcerated population, they are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites, what’s shocking is that one in six black men had been incarcerated as of 2001 and if the trends continues one in three black males born today can expect to spend time in prison during his lifetime.
The American journalist Charles Blow in his scandal article The Whole System Failed Trayvon Martin illuminated such deep problems of current society as the credibility of self-defense, the imperfection of the U.S. criminal justice system, criticism of gun culture, and race relationships. This paper focuses on the Trayvon Martin case and explores the stereotypes that created the motive for the homicide.
The Prison Reform Movement was triggered by George Zimmerman not found guilty, which led to public outrage. The minorities make up most of the prisons. “According to the Sentencing Project, which promotes sentencing reform and alternatives to incarceration, the likelihood that a white man will spend time in prison in his lifetime is one in seventeen; for Latino men, the likelihood is one in six, and for black men, it is one in three”(When we fight we win 56). People do not know that the prison system is a way to keep minorities locked away. They do not know that a black or latino person are most likely to be in prison than a white person. The power holders have done a good job on hiding it but it is time to reveal it. A trigger event is when a shocking incident occurs which increased public support and inspired activism.
I chose to write on an incident that occurred on Feb 26, 20102, in Sanford, Florida. George Zimmerman a 28 year old mixed Hispanic male shot and killed Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman was a volunteer neighborhood watch coordinator, in a gated community in Florida. While on duty, Zimmermann had a concealed weapon and carried a 9mm pistol. (Zimmerman did have a legal permit). The fatal shot occured while Zimmerman and Martin where fighting. The police responded 2 mins after the shots fired because Zimmerman called the police prior to the fight. Trayvon Martin an African American male, died at the age of 17.
The white officer, Darren Wilson had shot an unarmed black teenager who was Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on Saturday, 9 August 2014. Darren Wilson was a police that involved in arrest a drug suspect in 2013. He had suspect that Michael Brown was involved in drug so that he used an excessive force to Michael Brown. After that he told the authorities that Michael Brown had reached for the gun when they were fight.
On the subject of comparing today’s events of African Americans standing up for justice and before the 60’s when they were fighting for justice, I am going to talk about the Trayvon Martin story. Trayvon Martin was an African American teenager who was in a lot of trouble in school having been suspended three times and even was caught with drugs in his book bag by the principal of his school. After he had came from the store buying skittles and an Arizona iced tea according to George Zimmerman (the man who shot Trayvon) he had said that, "This guy looks like he 's up to no good, or he 's on drugs or something. It 's raining, and he 's just walking around." After he had told this to the dispatcher, he ended up following Trayvon with the intent
Ever been accused of manslaughter or been called a racist? Well George Zimmerman has, in the Trayvon Martin case. Many people do believe that George Zimmerman is a racist and a murderer. Opinions and facts are all a big part of this case. Obviously George Zimmerman did kill Trayvon Martin, but he still has pleaded not guilty.
Zimmerman killed Trayvon for a reason, turns out that Trayvon was attacking him and wanted to kill him with a gun. During the fight Trayvon grabbed him by the neck by pushing him towards the ground. During that moment George reacted fast that he was able to grab that gun that he suddenly shot Trayvon right in the heart. He was freaky out because he realizes that he had killed a boy and wasn’t expecting it.
The worst punishments these officers receive vary from a demotion to discharge from the force. Zimmerman, a community watch member who shot and killed Trayvon Martin, was never treated as a criminal and although he was charged with murder he was eventually acquitted of all charges. Zimmerman was more recently accused of drunkenly boasting about his crime to strangers in a bar while using racial slurs when referring to Martin. Zimmerman’s privilege as a member of the justice system lead to an unfair sentence that caused Martin’s death to go unavenged. Another more complicated example of police privilege is police assisted suicide. Sandra Bland was pulled over for not correctly using her turn signal when changing lanes and an argument with the officer lead to her arrest. The video of Bland’s arrest has been proven to been edited and cut, causing conspiracies to form around her arrest. Bland was later found hanging in her cell with no report of movement outside her cell, although claims have aroused that the police covered up the real security footage. Close friends and family say she had no history of depression or mental illness which the police used to justify her suicide. Sandra Bland was a large supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, which