An Unjust Justice System

“The Trials of “The Scottsboro Boys” was a famous case throughout American history. This case showed the racial injustice in our corrupt criminal justice system. In 1931, nine young African Americans were accused of raping two white ladies in the train in Scottsboro, Alabama. In the case, there was a mix of both African Americans and white men who were on the train, but the white men tried to get the African Americans off the train because they stated that only whites were allowed. Eventually, the nine young African Americans were able to get the whites to get off the train, but the whites had stated that the Africans were the ones who “attacked” them. The African American boys were soon arrested because there were two white ladies stated that they have been raped by these boys. After the accusation, the nine boys were all sent to an all white jury. The state of Alabama kept trying to convict those nine black boys of sexual assault, but James Horton, one of the trial judges, stated that they were innocent and because of this, he was not elected (Wormser).  According to the doctors, they stated that during the examination, there was little to no evidence that there was a sexual assault. (Burnham 9) The two ladies only had a couple of bruises and they didn’t show signs of traumatization. Even without much evidence, the African American boys were convicted and pleaded guilty. Because of their race, there was death penalty involved in this case. In the end, “In 1935, decision the U.S. Supreme Court (Norris v. Alabama) overturned this conviction, ruling that the state had excluded blacks from juries” (Wormser). The Scottsboro Boys Trial lasted from 1931 to 1937.

Nowadays, many people don’t realize that others of different minority races and ethnicities have been victimized for many different criminal cases such as rape and murder. We want to know if racism still exists in the justice system. Although many say that they didn’t commit the crime, no one is there to believe them because of their race or ethnicity. Later on, they get wrongfully convicted for the crime they did not commit because of their race and ethnicity. Unlike the Caucasian race, minorities did not have the white privileges. They had nothing but a different skin color and that is what made them so “different” from the whites. The way they were sentenced differently and harshly. According to The National Registry of Exonerations, they say that Africans have a bigger chance of being accused or victimized for murder due to their skin color. They also spend time in prison longer than the whites. In sexual assault cases, African Americans are also the ones who get a harsher and longer prison sentencing than whites. In drug cases, they state that police have a larger chance of stopping Africans for a search because of “racial profiling.” Although both African Americans and Caucasian people both abuse the drug use, the police apply stricter policies on Africans. Unlike the African Americans, the Caucasian race usually get away with things easily because they are white. The research done by The National Registry of Exonerations shows that African Americans are the ones with the highest percentage among the different exonerations in race and criminal cases in the United States. Some places in the United States, such as Florida, have unfair sentencing for Caucasian Americans and African Americans. According to the New York Times, study shows that,

…judges disregard the guidelines, sentencing black defendants to longer prison terms in 60 percent of felony cases, 68 percent of serious, first-degree crimes and 45 percent of burglaries. In third-degree felony cases — the least serious and broadest class of felonies — white Florida judges sentenced black defendants to 20 percent more prison time than white defendants. (NY Times)

In all these criminal cases, the black defendants and the white defendants were both in the same situation. They all committed the same crime, but the outcome of these criminal cases were totally different. Referencing to the research NY Times did, African Americans did indeed have a longer sentencing, which relates back to the main issue of how white are more superior over African Americans and African Americans just have to deal with the unfair justice system. The Scottsboro Boys Trial is not the only case that had racism involved in their justice system, but the racism in the justice system is still here today. The racism has not died yet.

Because of these outcomes, why are minority’s treated unjustly in crime cases? If we have no idea of how to answer the question “Why are minority’s treated unjustly in crime cases?”, then we definitely have no idea of how to answer the bigger questions “How come being a minority, particularly being an African American, gets a harsher sentencing than being a white person?” If we can’t answer “How do we expose the social injustice and stop unfair trials?” then we can’t answer a bigger question and a more important question “How do we expose the social injustice and stop unfair trials?” How does race, particularly being an African American, play a role on the outcome of a crime case?

According to Nazgol Ghandnoosh’s “Race and Punishment: Racial Perceptions of Crime and Support for Punitive Policies” her research states that,

Whites’ greater punitiveness relative to people of color is especially striking because whites are far less likely than blacks and Hispanics to be victims of crime. In 2008, African Americans were 78% more likely than whites to experience household burglary, 133% more likely to experience motor vehicle theft, and experiencedother types of theft at about the same rate. (Ghandnoosh)

In other words, people of different color are more well respected unlike the African Americans and the other minorities. They are more superior and people don’t mistreat whites like they do with the minorities. As it states in the research, the people that are more likely to be victimes are the minorities and not the blacks in any criminal case. This is unfair to the minorities. Nazgol Ghandnoosh writes as a research analyst who mainly focuses on criminal justice, specifically racial inequality, and also does research for a nonprofit organization called “The Sentencing Project.” This nonprofit organization also mainly focuses on helping the criminal justice system. Whites are not as likely as to be victimized because of their skin color unlike blacks. This makes sense because African Americans are the ones that are usually experiencing more serious crimes.

In 2012, blacks were 66% more likely than whites to be victims of sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault… A recent study found that although a high proportion of white men (38%) reported having been arrested by age 23, the rate was still higher for African Americans (49%). (Ghandnoosh).

Nazgol claims that it is a common for a police to stop a person of color because they are racially biased. Because it is common for police to be racially biased, people of color tend to be wrongfully committed for a crime that they didn’t commit. Police also tend to be racially bias because they know for a fact that African Americans tend to commit more crimes based on the statistics. According to The National Registry of Exonerations, it stated that, “Black people are 7 times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than white people.” They are treated unfairly under the law because everyone is supposed to be born free and equal, but the way minorities are treated here shows how the trials are unfair and how there is social injustice. Nazgol Ghandnoosh did many surveys and the results from the survey was that many of the people tend to think or assume that at least 40% of the crimes were committed by African Americans. The public might think this way because the media also play a role in how people of color get portrayed. Many African Americans tend to be the bad person committing the crime, but this is actually a racial misconception. For example, if you watch a movie, most of the time African Americans are the antagonist committing the crime. The way people act and decide proves that others tend to be very racially bias without knowing it.

In comparison, of the Scottsboro Boys Trial with the Brock Turner sexual assault case, Brock Turner had a lighter sentence than the nine boys. Brock Turner was a white swimmer on the Stanford swimming team. He was known for drug abuse and alcohol abuse. On the day of January 18, 2015, Brock Turner was found behind a garbage dump. Not only was he found behind a garbage dump, but he was also found on top of another girl student from Stanford. She had bruises and cuts all over her body and was also covered in blood. After being found, he tried to escape from the situation, but was eventually caught again. They tested to see his alcohol content and found that his percentage of alcohol consumption was very high. The next day, the girl was finally conscious and told the police that she didn’t give consent to anyone to have sex with her. The test results proved that the bruises and cuts were the results from penetration. Although this unfortunate situation did occur, Brock Turner stated in his letter that he was regretful of what he did and that he did not want this to occur. He was then banned from Stanford a few days later. He was charged rape and as a result, he was pleaded guilty. In the Scottsboro Boys Trial, the nine boys were accused of rape and was pleaded guilty, but in this case, the results were the complete opposite. The African Americans had a harsher sentence with up to 75 years of jail or a death penalty, but on the other hand, Brock Turner was sentenced on June 2nd and had to go to jail for only 3 months. This is because his judge, Aaron Persky, stated that “a prison sentence would have “a severe impact” and “adverse collateral consequences” on Turner” (Marina). Did this mean that all the other sentences wouldn’t have “a severe impact” on innocent victims? The comparison of these two cases clearly shows that race is certainly a factor of the outcome of a crime.

Many research studies done by Rebecca Coffey shows that there isn’t any physical evidence stating that this is discrimination in this justice system, but this is simply not true. According to Rebecca Coffey, a science journalist, claims that there is discrimination throughout the justice system. People who are racist often look up things relating to only African Americans, white americans, and how many people from different race gets arrested in order to make a comparison. Rebecca Coffey states that there is one thing that changes the way outsiders look at the problem and that is the media. There are many stereotypes that go around in the media. This changes everyone’s perspectives of how they look at the situation and shapes the way they think. Because the journal stated that tests show how African Americans had a lower IQ, they were more discriminated. The police just jump to conclusions and don’t really know the background story of what happened in a criminal case. She believes that there is honestly no integrity in the justice system.

Another similar recent case like Brock Tuner’s case was Cory Batey’s case. Brock Turner and Cory Batey were both student athletes, but unlike Brock Turner, Cory Batey was an African American. Cory Batey was an African American football player in Vanderbilt University, so he didn’t have the white privileges like Brock Turner had. Like Brock Turner, Cory Batey was under the same circumstances. Cory Batey was also drunk on campus. On the other hand, he was known as a caring person and a guy that goes to church because he believes that everyone’s soul shall be cleansed. After he got drunk on campus, his personality immediately changed. He was not himself anymore. His mom stated that he didn’t act the way he used to be and stated that he was a totally different person that she had never seen before. This was another side of him. Without realizing, he drank too much alcohol till the point where he went beyond his limits. He was tipsy and didn’t know what he was doing. As a result, Cory Batey raped a girl unconsciously. In the 32 minutes of rape, the video that was caught on camera showed that Cory Batey was making statements like “That’s four years of slavery, b****” (Barchenger). No one understood why he would say such a thing like that on court. The victim herself did not even remember how she got raped because she was too drunk. She had to watch the video that was caught on camera in order to remember what had happened that night. After watching the video, she didn’t know how to react because she felt like the body wasn’t even her’s anymore. She stated that, “Mr. Batey continued to abuse and degrade me, urinating on my face while uttering horrific racial hate speech that suggested I deserved what he was doing to me because of the color of my skin. He didn’t even know who I was” (Barchenger). She was found in the hallway campus half naked, bruised, and unconscious. Like what Brock Turner said, Cory Batey also stated that he didn’t want this unfortunate situation to happen and he was very sorry for what happened. On September 30th, Cory Batey was sentenced for 15 years of prison. This outcome was very odd because comparing Cory Batey’s sentencing to Brock Turner’s sentencing, Brock Turner got a lighter sentencing even though they were both in the same situation. Cory Batey, like the nine boys from the Scottsboro Boys Trial, also got a heavy sentencing. This all shows that race plays a major factor in sentencing.

Many may say that being racially bias does not exist in the justice system and that our criminal justice system is fair, but that is simply not true. According to Heather Mac Donald, she claims and believes that the reason why we have so many African Americans and minorities in prison is not because of the hatred and the racially biased views, but because of the crime rates. She would have disagreed with Nazgol because in her opinion, it does not have anything to do with discrimination, but only based on the criminal cases itself. “From 1976 to 2005, blacks committed over 52 percent of all murders in America…The advocates acknowledge such crime data only indirectly: by charging bias on the part of the system’s decision makers” (Donald). She implies that people only think about how the justice system is very bias when it isn’t. They only care about the finally “decision” and say that is bias. The justice system is not bias and its the fact that evidence shows that it’s the “large racial differences in criminal offending” (Donald) that makes people think racism is involved in a criminal case. She claims that there are just many of the same patterns in racial difference. She says everyone is born and treated the same. No one under the justice system is being mistreated. For example, she states that, “Nevertheless, the federal crack penalties dominate discussions on race and incarceration because they seem to provide a concrete example of egregious racial disparity” (Donald). Even though African Americans are the main ones that are always receiving this penalty, it doesn’t necessarily mean that this “penalty” is racist and is aiming at only African Americans. It just means that mostly African Americans are the ones using crack and it’s just the racial difference that makes everyone assume the penalty is racist. There is racial equality in the justice system. The way someone is sentenced or convicted is not by their race, but how heavy their actions are to receive such a heavy sentencing.

Surely, Nazgol Ghandnoosh after reading the psychological journal that Rebecca Coffey, a science journalist, wrote, would have agreed that being racially bias in a criminal case is a problem, since she stated that African Americans are being wrongfully convicted and have a longer sentence. However, both Nazgol Ghandnoosh and Rebecca Coffey would disagree with Heather Mac Donald after reading what she wrote since Heather Mac Donald stated that there is no discrimination in the justice system and the justice system is flawless. Nazgol stated that the police wrongfully convicted the African American victim because of his skin color and that is enough to say that Heather Mac Donald’s statement is wrong. Nazgol would have said that there is a huge misconception of what Heather is saying. Rebecca Coffey would’ve said that her observations are the evidence to the problem even though some people say the system is flawless. There is racism and discrimination in the justice system. It is flawed. People who make the rules go against African Americans. People in the court may be mostly white just like the case the nine boys from the Scottsboro Boys Trials. White people are willing to help their own race and not African Americans just like how in the case, no one was there to listen to the nine boys.

In conclusion, the major issue that we have in the justice system is that because of people’s race and skin color, others automatically assume that they did what they were accused of doing. Then they automatically get a harsher sentencing as a minority. The minorities don’t have advantages like the white race had and they were not superior at all. No one listened to what they had to say because they already made assumptions beforehand. Why do people have to be so cruel and make assumptions when they haven’t even gotten evidence to prove someone else’s claim? This all shows that whites have more of a privilege than blacks. They only believe whites and they don’t believe the blacks unless they have a reasonable doubt about something. Not only does racial injustice exist back in the early times, but these recent cases also show that the racial injustice in our corrupt criminal system still exists today.

 

Bibliography

• Burnham, Margaret. “Scottsboro Boys.” Encyclopedia of Race and Racism, edited by Patrick L. Mason, 2nd ed., vol. 4, Macmillan Reference USA, 2013, pp. 8-12. Gale Virtual Reference Library, remote.baruch.cuny.edu/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=cuny_baruch&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX4190600396&asid=7388562456a27df8ceb476fd73f70cb0. Accessed 01 Apr. 2017.
• Bellamy, Jay. “Scottsboro Boys Cases.” The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America: An Encylopedia (n.d.): n. pag. The Scottsboro Boys: Injustice in Alabama. Web. 01 Apr. 2017.
• Blinder, Alan. “Alabama Pardons 3 ‘Scottsboro Boys’ After 80 Years.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 21 Nov. 2013. Web. 01 Apr. 2017.
• Ghandnoosh, Nazgol. “Race and Punishment: Racial Perceptions of Crime and Support for Punitive Policies.” The Sentencing Project. N.p., 3 Sept. 2014. Book. 01 Apr. 2017.
• Wormser, Richard. “The Scottsboro Case.” PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2017.
• Koren, Marina. “Why the Stanford Judge Gave Brock Turner Six Months.” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 17 June 2016. Web. 01 Apr. 2017.
• Gross, Samuel, Maurice Possley, and Klara Stephens. “Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States.” (n.d.): n. pag. Race and Wrongful Convictions in the United States. National Registry of Exonerations, 7 Mar. 2017. Web.
• “Unequal Sentences for Blacks and Whites.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Dec. 2016. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
• Barchenger, Stacey. “Cory Batey Sentenced to 15 Years in Vanderbilt Rape Case.” The Tennessean. N.p., 14 July 2016. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.
• Coffey, Rebecca. “No Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System?” Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, 13 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

 

Cover Letter

I chose to write about this topic because I really wanted to go in depth on how corrupt the justice system is and how Africans are getting a heavier and longer sentence just because of their skin color. I know there have been lots of cases about innocent getting victimized and I just want to know the factors of why they are being victimized. Being a minority definitely plays a role in their outcome of the different crimes.

Throughout this research paper, I was really stressed about what to talk about and what cases to use because I would have to make the whole paper flow well. The cases would have to contradict each other and then there would be a recent case that would have to support my main exhibit and my ideas to show the reader that the initial problem in my research paper still exists today. After researching for so long, I finally found the Brock Turner and the Cory Batey cases. The outcome of the cases perfectly contradicted each other and that was what I needed.

While writing this research paper, I thought that the option of allowing us to use the Baruch Library website was quite useful. It really helped me with finding more scholarly resources, so that I can actually use them on my paper. It also helped me form my research topic since I had to use lots of keywords in order to narrow down my research. Many books popped out during my research that I had interest in and that is what sparked my interest in my research problem.