Jenna Welsh
2/19/2015 09:44:26 am
I have wanted to be a prosecutor for as long as I can remember, but, in light of the events in Ferguson and Staten Island, I am disturbed by the amount of corruption in the justice system of “the people.” I think the police brutality aspect of white privilege is especially heinous: police officers should protect people from criminals, but instead it seems they arrest arbitrarily in low-income neighborhoods that are mostly minority. I think a solution is to have officers develop relationships with the people in their designated area. Another possibility is for the police academies to recruit in low-income areas and, once recruit are police officers, have them work in their neighborhood. I think this would foster a cooperative and positive relationship between these groups. I also think that public forums where people can voice their concerns about the police are a great way to help the police gain back some of the trust they lost. These strategies that are meant to gain trust can help reduce racial disparity and crime as a whole.
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Piper Tompkins
2/19/2015 12:30:08 pm
When I was reading this article I instantly thought of Ferguson as well, when you connected police brutality with white privilege I thought you brought up a fantastic point. I just read an article on CNN that stated that the Justice Department may be suing the Ferguson Police Department for 'Discriminatory policing'. This topic is so relevant to whats happening in America right now, and I can tell you have really great insight on this situation.
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Morgan King
2/19/2015 02:20:02 pm
First, I think its great that you want to be a prosecutor. I think that you should take the fact that your disturbed by such a fact to heart, and let that motivate you to be a better person than what is already out there.
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Kayla Feather
2/19/2015 10:24:50 am
Where to begin? The article showed all of the issues with the system and was really biased by showing on side in my opinion. I think becoming a police officer would be one of the hardest jobs in the world and they get so much hell, in my opinion, for the things that the do. Yes, I agree that there are crooked police officers, but to assume that everyone is an issue seems a bit out of hand. It is like we are stereo typing police officers and basically say that all women are emotional unstable when they are not. I feel our opinions toward police officers and people of similar careers have become more bitter because of accidents that have grow way out of hand. Also has humans I feel all we want to do is blame people for what is happening, even if it was not 100% their fault, but also, as well, the person who is being shown as the victim.
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Jenna Welsh
2/19/2015 10:34:34 am
I agree that police officers should get to know their communities without being told to, and I also agree that changes will not happen overnight. But I think what angers so many people, and what causes many of us to mistrust most police officers, is that there seems to be few legal consequences for police brutality. Police officers are lauded as "heroes" in this country, and those that do commit heinous acts seem to be exempt from the ramifications of their behavior.
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Kayla Feather
2/19/2015 10:49:25 am
I kind of disagree with the police brutality. Yes, there might be a couple of cases of unprovoked attack, but most police act that way because they felt threaten. If someone who was say larger than you and resisting what you were telling them to do, then brutality seem fine. Aren't police allowed to use any means necessary to arrest people if they have a warrant or the right authority? If we do not let them arrest people of interest or people who have committed a crime without any means necessary, then we might as well send them in with water guns and pillows, unprepared. Of course you are right, there are extreme cases that the police go to far, and that is when there needs to be an investigation to know all the facts instead of jumping the gun.
Jenna Welsh
2/19/2015 11:05:04 am
But "any means necessary" should not include death. White police officers kill black suspects an average of two times a week (http://mic.com/articles/96452/one-troubling-statistic-shows-just-how-racist-america-s-police-brutality-problem-is). Killing someone without due process, unless the officers' life is ABSOLUTELY IN DANGER, is not morally or legally acceptable. Moreover, how do we know that these officers only felt "threatened" based on the suspect's size? How do we know that the "threat" was not based on race? I seriously doubt that white suspects are killed at the same rate.
Kayla Feather
2/19/2015 10:40:50 am
Fixed the mistakes, I couldn't see them earlier.
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TJ
2/19/2015 04:56:38 pm
I completely agree, there was a lot of bias placed and not a lot of solution thinking taking place. It is relate-able to people getting worked up at the president even though he has one of the hardest jobs in the world.
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A very passionate person
2/19/2015 12:09:38 pm
Corruption happens, but police officers are not corrupt by nature. School shootings occur, but no child is born with a loaded gun in their hand and hate in their hearts. Innate evil is a lie we tell ourselves about others to avoid the truth.
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Mikayla
2/19/2015 12:22:42 pm
I am impressed with your interest in the topic and thoroughly agree with you that none of us can understand the position of a police officer or a criminal. I am often frustrated by people who only accuse without actually looking at the facts of the case.
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Christian Klosterman
2/19/2015 12:51:37 pm
I really liked how you made analogies and connections to solidify your argument. It was really interesting to see that you stated that not just one side is at fault, it is all a matter of circumstance. That is a really eye opening way to look at it.
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Shea Saulino
2/19/2015 12:52:19 pm
While I am intrigued by your progressive approach to stay anonymous I am curious as to how you will be getting participation points.
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APP
2/19/2015 01:21:18 pm
There's no need to humanist someone who was born human. That's gods job.
Shea Saulino
2/20/2015 02:13:58 am
APP, you are right in that everyone is human, but what they become cannot be justified based on their species. I appreciate you looking to a higher power to solve issues in the world, but I respectfully disagree. I believe that it's society's job to discourage that kind of behavior.
Srdja
2/19/2015 01:42:45 pm
I think that society and environment play a big role in shaping our characters but we are all responsible for their own mistakes. It is a power of choice. Therefore, I disagree with you that you can find excuse for all these people and happenings you placed above. No offence. Love love. Spread peace .
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APP
2/19/2015 02:28:31 pm
Does the need to place blame lie above the need to prevent future pain?
Srdja
2/19/2015 02:40:47 pm
Yes of course I would send him because that is the rule and law. Rules need to be same for all. Probably in past a lot of people were sent in prison for 10 years why would not send that person? There is a lot of laws that are questionable and that is discussion for other time. At the end of the day people are those who chose the system you are living in.
Shea Saulino
2/20/2015 02:16:19 am
YES. APP, you have a right to your opinion, but the criminal justice system should not let off anyone for simply being scared from committing another crime. That allows for manipulation and it opens the door to injustice and crime.
Jenna Welsh
2/19/2015 02:15:30 pm
Society may do everything in its power to foster evil in us, but we can still resist. Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Ghandi were all subjected to unimagibale terrors. Holocaust survivors were slaughtered for their religion. Armenians were mercilessly deported and executed for their ethincity. If anything, they were the ones society tried to break the most, but they stayed strong and continued to advocate for love and peace. Hitler may have been broken, but that does not mean that he did not have any control over his actions.
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Jenna Welsh
2/19/2015 02:17:36 pm
*unimaginable
APP
2/19/2015 02:24:18 pm
You must take into account that most of the people listed above had strong mentor figures who helped shape them into the type of individuals they were. Martin Luther King had a father who was a loving pastor, Nelson Mandela learned from Walter Sisul and Ghandi...well, "His father was the Chief Minister of Porbandar, and his mother’s religious devotion meant that his upbringing was infused with the Jain pacifist teachings of mutual tolerance, non-injury to living beings and vegetarianism."
Mikayla Kricfalusi
2/19/2015 12:16:14 pm
I came away from this reading feeling beyond confused. The author used many large words, but I feel that he or she was attempting to hide that fact that nothing concrete was being put forth. "Arrest Alternatives" seems to be a great idea that would help cases in which the perpetrator would not be served by an arrest. However, the reading never specified what it meant by "Arrest Alternatives." I am intrigued by the ideas put forth in the reading, but I would rather know more realistic solutions. Does this mean letting the perpetrator go home? Sending them to a church? Telling them to go to class? I am not sure what this would mean and therefore it is not helpful to me, or anyone reading it. I understand that creativity is needed, but I feel that it is necessary to provide a guideline, as the author originally had some inspiration. However, I do agree that more funding needs to go to police facilities. One point not touched on is the need to fill a certain number of tickets or arrests. I am not sure if this is fact or fiction, but I am under the impression that officers are encouraged to fill a quota. The need to arrest a certain number of individuals might lead officers to target minorities, even if they do not realize it.
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Shea Saulino
2/19/2015 12:50:26 pm
I think your question is great, however I would even go further as to ask him what his/her opinion is on the racial disparity within his/her precinct.
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camila Antonorsi
2/19/2015 12:18:07 pm
i find it interesting how race has such a big impact in the justice system. in the reading it says "Racism fuels the overt bias which can show in the language, attitudes, conduct, assumptions, strategies
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Tristan Elghoroury
2/19/2015 12:23:10 pm
That is very true. It is hard because they judge people on their history. That is a whole nother problem that runs parallel to the racism in the legal systems.
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Mikayla
2/19/2015 12:25:54 pm
Remember that the article expressly stated that racial disparity does not come from simply a racial bias, but also from the situations different races are placed in. That means that not all "decisions" are based solely on a true racial bias. It is a problem in society.
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Tristan Elghoroury
2/19/2015 12:20:23 pm
I think that the fact that a higher percentage of African Americans live in lower income communities and are therefore more likely to be arrested because the police tend to go to lower income areas, is really sad and wrong. Yet what is the way out? Should police not go to low income areas as much? More crimes would be executed and gone unnoticed. I guess if the police went to areas where people are middle-class, they wouldn't get as many arrests and therefore maybe feel like they were not using their authority to stop the most crime that they could. It is a hard question and there are many things that are linked together that keep the poor and minority groups where they are.
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Piper Tompkins
2/19/2015 01:27:32 pm
I agree with the point you brought up about how the police go to lower income areas because there is a higher crime rate, its really conflicting subject to think about.
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Isaac Fernandez
2/19/2015 02:38:23 pm
This is almost exactly how I feel about this topic. The fact that there are more minorities in some cases in these lower class areas, I feel does not play a part in if the cops go into the areas. It is really to stop crime that is happening. Where homicide is more prevalent in lowercase areas, selling of illegal substances, prostitution. There is a much bigger reason than the race factor. And people who pull the race card use that as a rediculous excuse in my opinion! "The cops only arrested me cause I'm black." No they arrested you cause you were just caught selling drugs.
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Isaac
2/19/2015 02:47:15 pm
Yes my friend I agree. They are just doing their job.
Grant
2/19/2015 04:00:26 pm
From what ive seen I think police typically go where there most needed. I think they tend to go in the lower income areas more often because thats where the most illegal activity could be taking place at the time. I have also witnessed heavy police patrolling in "higher income areas". I feel like there is always a reason behind why they are in certain areas and its not based only on income.
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Shea Saulino
2/19/2015 12:44:08 pm
Reflection: In the first seconds of opening the PDF I found an utter lack of sugarcoating- I knew this article was going to go deep. The parallel between an African American and Caucasian male caught my attention and almost felt cold, as if I was being judged. The mission statement for The Sentencing Project was particularly interesting as it highlighted the racially biased law enforcement situation. Section One broke down the main causes of racial disparity in "the system". The Legislative Decisions section is what interested me the most. This section had a sub-category called "The War on Drugs" which stated the following statistic; "About half of the inmates (53% of state and 45% of federal inmates) met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM- IV) criteria for substance abuse or dependence." This to me was shocking. I found through reading this article that I take pity on criminals with mental disorders- how are they to know what they've done if they don't have the mind to tell them?
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Alexis Habib
2/19/2015 01:25:42 pm
I think that the question you came up with is very fitting to the situation and I would love to hear and answer to it form the guest speaker.
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APP
2/19/2015 01:25:53 pm
Mental illness is a term used to describe a wide range of disorders, from bipolar disorder to schizophrenia. Saying someone has a mental illness is not an automatic indicator that they have no understanding of their actions.
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Morgan King
2/19/2015 02:13:20 pm
I agree about the lack of "bias" within the first several seconds of reading this. But I believe that it was written this way to carry the message across to all readers without creating some kind of an influence.
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Abby Elliott
2/19/2015 02:50:16 pm
Because you are a caucasian male, it sounds like this article came alive to you and really got you thinking!
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christian Klosterman
2/19/2015 12:47:32 pm
It seems weird to me how the arrest rates are higher in lower income areas where most minorities reside, and in return, more cops patrol those areas, which results in more arrests. It seems like a deadly cycle to me, as people who are arrested usually go back into that lifestyle after getting released, and if no one is doing something to actively change this, it will only yield the same results. There is seemingly no way out for the victims. I believe that although there are some exceptions, not all cops are racially biased people even though the media makes it out to be that way. There are always going to be a group of people putting a bad name on an occupation and creating stereotypes for a profession as a whole, but some people need to see that beyond what makes the front page of the news, there are morally sound people that work in that profession that are just like you and I.
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APP
2/19/2015 01:35:55 pm
The cycle has more to do with poverty than it does crime. Access to medical care and education have a greater success rate of reliving poverty throughout history than increased (or decreased) police brutality.
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Jackson Sjogren
2/19/2015 02:00:50 pm
I completely agree its a vicious cycle and no one knows how to stop it.
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Abby Elliott
2/19/2015 02:52:15 pm
I agree the system is broken.
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Piper Tompkins
2/19/2015 01:19:29 pm
This article was eye opening, though it was hard for me to follow at some points I really enjoyed reading it as preparation for tomorrows guest speaker. In section IV under the law enforcement passage, the author mentioned the idea for community policing approaches, they say that the police stations should support public forums where police officers can talk to community members and thus giving the community members a chance to give feedback and communicate so they can feel more comfortable in the community. This also gives the police opportunities to reach out to the community and learn about what “Cultural and racial conflicts present in the area” This would encourage a more personal relationship between the police and the public, instead of the police promoting fear.
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APP
2/19/2015 01:38:04 pm
good point
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Dylan L
2/19/2015 01:59:41 pm
I also think that it is interesting in how a big aspect of this issue is the way that judges and the officers are taught. Education is almost always a solution to problems.
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Srdja
2/19/2015 02:45:55 pm
Always Dylan always. Nelson Mandela : Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
Alexis Habib
2/19/2015 01:22:16 pm
It does not surprise me that generally people from the middle class are arrested less. As it said in the document, they have better ways to teat people and prevent some crime for happening because they have money. And it just so happens that, because or racial bias, minorities tend to be stuck in lower classes, where they do not have the means to pay for special services to help people who are troubled. It seems to me that the reason for a crime would need to be looking into more. If a kid beat up another kid so he could have enough money for food, or is selling drugs was someone only source of income because in their area they are unable to find any jobs. I am not saying that the excuses for a crime make the actual crime any less of an offence, but what I am trying to get across is that with more insight in people's actions, that might inspire other people to come in and help the situation.
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Dylan L
2/19/2015 01:56:35 pm
I think that it is really interesting when the article was explaining how the life outside of the arrest is important. Like what they have access to and how it affects children growing up.
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Officer Question: Is racial discrimination a part of your job?
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Kaeli Leoni
2/19/2015 02:32:44 pm
I like how you related this whole chain reaction to a domino effect, it gives extremely clear imagery of how the court system works.
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Dylan L
2/19/2015 01:53:04 pm
I think to start off, this entire process seems very very complicated. It seems like there is a lot of thought that is gone into this and I think that the people who prepared this document has been studying this for a very long time. I think that what they were saying about how people are brought up and how the class that they live in is affecting what they may be prosecuted as was really interesting. Something that I think would be very interesting to study would be how people are affected by what they are educated.
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Jackson Sjogren
2/19/2015 01:59:39 pm
It seems like a never ending cycle. Kids are raised in low income areas where the only way to get by and stay on top is to commit crimes. After this they commonly get arrested and released repeating the same process over and over. The question is how should people break the chains in which continues this viscous cycle. Once a citizen has a criminal record their is no going back. Even if a man or women wants to change their life they will permanently be reminded of what they have done and what they are considered to be by the criminal justice system, a criminal. Once you are considered to be a criminal whats to stop you from continuing to be a criminal.
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Morgan King
2/19/2015 02:05:32 pm
After reading these excerpts, I found a lack of "human input." What I mean is there really wasn't some kind of narrator presenting/telling the "story." I found interesting points throughout the reading, which improved my view on these conflicts. It came as no surprise that people who are more privileged(better education, access to more resources, etc.) were less likely to be arrested or even stopped by police officers.
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Eli Murguia
2/19/2015 11:10:58 pm
Wow, I entirely agree with you about how we have to educate not just one group of people about this but we need to educate everyone in order to become less ignorant of the things happening around us. Very impacting statement Morgan! I also agree about how shocking racism is tied into bail and verdict. It really reminds me about the zoot suiters play we read and how judge mental people could be solely based on race.
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Srdja
2/19/2015 02:35:46 pm
It is obvious that this article is written by experts who know their work. Even though some parts were hard to followed, it revealed whole problem of US police system nowadays. One of the biggest facts that were brought here is that approximately 37% of all crimes in the country are committed by black people. Compared to the demographic statistic of blacks and whites in America ,approx. 14% to 60%, it is a way large number. There are a various reasons behind this unequal situation in prisons. There are two main reasons that article and my friends brought tonight: racial bias of american police and bad socioeconomic status of African Americans. Those are true and I agree with them. Author of the article was talking how police officers prefers patrol in the black neighborhoods rather than the white ones. Also the story about drugs and huge need for bad situated people to sell them in order to earn some money and live is said and it really feels that cycle of poverty will never end. I have never been in the desperate situation to do something bad in order to have better life so I absolutely can not judge these moves that the young adults (even kids) and adults were forced to do. It is unknown am I going to be but something that I was learned that there is always way. There is always way to solve problems. The presentation of Mrs. Clark's dad Power of choice has a big message to the world about your choices even in hard situations. In addition, people of United States chose the system they are living in, Chose the laws. Laws are over there to regulate all unhealthy things for the country. Therefore everyone in this country is required to respect them. Of course everyone who breaks those need to take a responsibility. At the end of the day police officers are just people who are doing their job to earn money and survive. 99.9% percent of them are not on some kind of mission to hurt some race because then he would need to be responsible for breaking above mentioned laws. At the end I hope that Darren Wilson, the murderer of the Michael Brown will spend a good amount of time in prison (because he committed a horrible crime) so the message to the world can be sent.
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Srdja
2/19/2015 02:44:06 pm
Question: Do you think that police officer salary is good enough to cover all pressure, stress and dangers they suffer?
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Eli Murguia
2/19/2015 11:03:42 pm
I definitely agree with what you mentioned about the cycle of poverty. How do you think we could change that? Do you think it is possible?
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Justin Reyes
2/19/2015 02:42:15 pm
All in all i found the overall article to be really interesting. The fact that the Criminal Justice system experiences aggressive racism due to the health statistic is a great point to conclude from a racial bias standpoint. I mean these aren’t the everyday topics that are usually talked about during class, so this was a great opportunity to expand my knowledge on these situations. When I came across the section of war and drugs under section IV,I was quite intrigued with this particular event. I agree with how Parole agencies need to focus funneling their resources towards temporary housing for example. If they’re able to obtain enough funds for these controlled environments, they are reimbursing the chances for a better recovery for drug and alcohol relapses.
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Isaac Fernandez
2/19/2015 02:52:32 pm
Yeah that's super interesting with the parole agencies! I think it's crazy how they fund the temporary housing thiugh.
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Kaeli Leoni
2/19/2015 02:55:16 pm
I can tell the writer really knew what they were talking about, they brought so many ideas to the table that I had never thought of before. The simple concept of introducing officers to local citizens builds a foundation of compassion and familiarity. This could help the officers understand the interworking of a high crime community. Also understanding the culture and tradition of a community could help the officers identify weather an activity is illegal behavior, or just a tradition that these community members grew up doing.
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Nicole Matteson
2/19/2015 03:23:56 pm
in my interview for the last ancillary, the majority thought that in order to reach full equality and social solidarity, knowledge and understanding of different cultures is necessary so I like how you said that the police officers should understand where the citizen is coming from, While introducing themselves to civilians
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Benjamin Rose
2/19/2015 02:56:58 pm
It’s no surprise at all to me that minorities have a greater chance of being placed in jail than the majority in this country. After all, aren’t they disadvantaged in many other areas regarding well being as well? This isn’t just one problem, as shown in the article. It’s a multitude of problems that keep feeding each other; an endless cycle. The fact is that nothing will change unless the injustices in the legal system are weeded out first. Our legal system needs to be as infallible as humanly possible, so as to avoid sending people to jail who don’t belong there. Only then will we see the plain truth of the rest of the situation, which can thereby be resolved one step at a time. You can’t expect minorities who are being unjustly prosecuted and persecuted by a prejudiced legal system to fix everything for themselves. They did not dig the hole that they were pushed into.
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Benjamin Rose
2/19/2015 02:58:38 pm
My question is: How can lawyers and the like do their part in preventing unjust prosecution?
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Abby Elliott
2/19/2015 03:14:28 pm
Given that all the evidence points to holes and problems in the law enforcement and judicial system, why aren’t the systems being evaluated for change? It is time that an entirely new approach be used in patrolling areas ridden with poverty and it is time that a new approach be used with people accused. Education, Education, Ecudation. If you have never gotten to hold books, many many books, if you have never seen a play, if you have never seen ocean life or another setting, if you have never had the opportunity to play in sports, if you have never gone to bed with a full stomach for an entire month – how is a person to know all the glory that exist in the world? These people need opportunities. The system has to change! Spend as much money on schools in these areas as is spent on patrolling these areas. Show the people that education can bring them a better life. If radical change is not implemented in these racially driven systems, the outcomes are always going to be less than positive. The recent civil unrest will hopefully get people talking and actively making changes.
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michele moua
2/19/2015 09:38:57 pm
I completely agree with your statement on the values of the court system and how they arent being met. And question why the evidence is not enough of an insentive for change?
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Nicole Matteson
2/19/2015 03:19:42 pm
The first section talking about higher crime rate, it was interesting to me to realize that the data found which suggests that African-Americans are more likely to commit a crime that these only account for arrests and not actual occurrences. The police have to make the decision to arrest someone which could be corrupt if they are racist.
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Sarah Lockhart
2/19/2015 04:57:43 pm
You have really great questions, and your first one makes me think of all the protests against police brutality after Ferguson. I haven't heard much about any punishment for the cops responsible which makes me question the whole thing, so I really want to hear the answer to this question.
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Matt Rose
2/19/2015 11:32:45 pm
I love the first question, I wonder when a cop makes a huge mistake but does not blow up on the media, if this leads to a rightful punishment.
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Grant
2/19/2015 03:48:45 pm
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Sarah Lockhart
2/19/2015 04:54:43 pm
I also think that the cameras would be a good idea, seems like it would help cops and citizens. And your question makes me wonder the same thing, I know I tense up when I see a cop while driving even if I'm doing nothing wrong. I think it might be with the idea of being scrutinized and examined by someone.
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TJ
2/19/2015 04:36:44 pm
Question: What official guidelines, rules, training, etc are you given to avoid unbiased and fair arrests?
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Matt Rose
2/19/2015 11:33:38 pm
Your question will be good to ask, I wonder to if they are even taught to keep everything fair and unbiased
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Sarah Lockhart
2/19/2015 04:46:54 pm
I thought this part was really eye-opening as to how there is a cycle against minorities within the justice system. I never thought about how a lack of resources could be a big reason why lower income minorities end up in prison versus a middle class person. I also never thought about how more resources could be offered in prison so people don't end up in the same situation over and over. Especially with the high amount of inmates that probably have a mental disorder and genuinely need treatment for it and won't be able to get the help they need in prison. And the part in the later section about community meetings seemed like a great idea to me because in the media I've seen a big separation between police officers and citizens and I think that would be a great way for people to vocalize their concerns. I think it would help both parties see more eye to eye and understand the difficulties that both sides faced.
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Nadir O
2/19/2015 07:56:40 pm
It's really sad to see the sort of situation the minorities in the lower class have to face. I'm not surprised that crime is well, fairly more common when it comes to the lower classes. Not only is this actually physically seen but when you sort of try to justify it, it's just a way to get by. I'm not saying that it's a good enough reason to commit a crime (there really isn't any good reason) but it's understandable. It is what it is, and it sucks. It's unfair that these people don't even have the resources to defend themselves and seek better help. In terms of race and ethnicity, it boggles my mind that those factors can play a significant role in these situations, and it's stupid. It makes sense in a way but it still hurts me personally that this kind if judgement is seen. I think that maybe understanding all these cultures is something that needs to be practiced significantly more often, hopefully that might start a change. Maybe equal justice can be achieved in every situation.
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Michele Moua
2/19/2015 09:36:26 pm
It frustrates and confuses me how at the base of everything, America has this huge theme of equality, its indebted in its history. And we claim to strive for a court and justice system that is to be as fair and non-biased as humanly possible, yet there is an understanding for fault. These statistics show an obvious fault. There is cold hard evidence showing that the system has and is swayed by racial bias. For example used in the reading, a hispanic man was sentenced to death because he was labeled for "future likely dangerousness" which is absurd to me. To deny him a chance to get better and grow from his expirience, how could they determin that he at the point of the trial has a potential for violence and should be killed no other wise. I do not know the case of this man, nor his history, but I do know that people are shaped through thier experience and have seen in multiple different cases, some more extreme then others of people coming and turning thier lives around. For them to deny him that chance is absurd. In my opinion prejudice will never go away, it natural and not necessarily a bad thing because everyone cant help it. But there are ways to get around it with exposure and an open mind set.
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Lucas LeVieux
2/19/2015 11:36:29 pm
It's incredible to me how no one noticed or reported the comment the prosecutor said about Hispanics being dangerous until the investigation. Something like that shouldn't really stand in a court of law.
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2/19/2015 10:41:37 pm
The article was confusing, the wording was a bit to out there for me to understand what I was reading. It did how ever show a lot of the points I have been able to find on my own in the justice system. The whole 'building a record" thing to me is bullshit. There have been plenty of white teens who bounced back and forth from juvy and were labeled as "trouble maker" or "Emotionally or mentally distrubed". And although these facts may be true, a black teen, or any other race would not be labled in such a way.This made me think about the recent case, where a white male, killed, execution style, three Muslims. If a Muslim man killed three white people, the entire news would cover it, the word would be enraged. But for this case, the man was described as "obbsessed with parking" and was not charged for the hate crimes that he cleary did. The news meida did not cover it right awy and if they did, they focused on how this white male rescued uppys and was distruped. IF a black male, or a Musim man did this the word "TERRORIST" or "GANG MEMBER" would be put onto the new screen and be the number one topic today. I know this report did not over mdeia but it is astomishing to me that this happned. The justice system did not charge him on a hate crime, which is what he did, and he was given the chance to be be looked as an an inoccent "disturbed" person.
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Eli Murguia
2/19/2015 10:59:57 pm
This makes total and complete sense to me. For the first section there were two main things that stuck out to me the most.
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Emily Hayashida
2/19/2015 11:19:02 pm
I like how you brought up the point of getting jobs after criminal records. It resembles how the cycle is never ending and shows how the children may turn back to a life of illegal doings.
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Emily Hayashida
2/19/2015 11:15:55 pm
This was a eye opening look at the difficulties of minorities in the justice system. One complaint I had about this artical was that it was hard to understand becasue of the vocabulary, yet when I looked up the words thist article was extremely informative. While I had realized the correlation between lower income minorites and incarceration rates, the death rates due to police classified by race is astounding. (from further research). It struck me how when cops would look for drugs, they would search the lower income ares specifially where latinos and blacks live. Yet in a middle class neighborhood there are still whites or people of other races abusing drugs at the same time. This vicious cycle should be stopped yet this article didn't really give any solutions but just critique the system.
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Eddie herrera
2/19/2015 11:55:35 pm
yeah I agree with the fact that pigs search the lower class but not the rich ones who have more than enough money to buy drugs in the first place smh
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Chandler Gaines
2/19/2015 11:23:25 pm
The first part pages 5-9 was intresting. I wasnt really in the mood to read this but it kind of caight my attention. I went on to read about prosecution, defense, judiciary, and parole/rerentry. These all were very informative. there is a lot that goes into bieng a representative of the law and I never really realized how much they do. It makes me put more value in mind whenever I see or think of that profession.
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Matt Rose
2/19/2015 11:31:24 pm
How minorities play a part in the justice system I find very wrong. Unfortunately it makes a lot of sense on why lower income places are more threatened by the police. Police get payed more for doing their job correctly and poverty stricken communities has a high rate of crime. This leads to the majority of poor communities are run by minorities. What makes this wrong is the never ending cycle. The minority is born into a poor community and is raised with bad influences and is very hard to make it out. One wrong mistake which puts them with a bad criminal record leaves them ineligible to go to a great college or get a good job. Unfortunately this makes it very hard to break this cycle and only the good few can make it out. I am not sure on how this can be changed though. Cops main job is to keep the clean streets. so it only makes the most sense to keep watch on these poverty neighborhoods. Since the lack of money can lead to a life of crime.
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Eddie
2/19/2015 11:54:02 pm
After reading this article, I feel that a big role that plays into this is racial profiling. Just the other day I was Chillin with my homies when the 5-O pulled up to a African American and started questioning him and asked what he had, did he have drugs, and all these things. In our eyes we saw that the guy didn't do nothing rather than just walk around. I feel that race had to do something because we were the ghetto side of esco, and we were the ones being suspicious but he pig went for the African American. I feel that the reason the pigs go to ghetto parts were the less fortunate reside is that since there less money people tend to steal, even I did that because I broke. I can see that the pigs want to do good for the people by removing those who steal but those who steal are just trying to make a livin out here. There is definitely corruption in the Justice system because of one thing and one thing only and that is money. Because if you have the power to hold people at gunpoint, search people's house, and even get away with murder people with use that and abuse it in order to get money. And just goes to show that where there is light, darkness is bound lurk among it.
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Lucas LeVieux
2/20/2015 12:04:46 am
I read the entire booklet, because it's something I'm interested in yet don't know much about. However, most of it kinda went over my head. It proposes a lot of policies to counteract racial disparity.
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Jack Campbell
2/20/2015 12:10:59 am
I think this articleaddressed a lot of questions and ideas that people had pertaining to the way that African-Americans are treated in court and by law-enforcement officers.it starts by and lightning the reader on the statistics and the uneven amount of African-Americans to their population in the United States within the jail system, and then it continues by elaborating on why the rates of incarceration ofminorities are higher. Something that I thought was important that it addressed was the idea that there are more, and uneven numbers of African-Americans was in the jail system because they commit more crimes, but this addresses it and shows thatfrom studies, they have found that to be untrue, and there is a bias towards white individuals to lessen their incarceration well at the same time increasing incarceration and sentences of African-American citizens and minorities.
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Rena
2/20/2015 12:25:47 am
This article is pretty interesting. I just spoke to Kayla about my opinions on it and she communicated hers to me. I agree with what Kayla said above, not all cops are like those in the town of Ferguson. The cops in Ferguson though are not shooting people like crazy, cops have a right to take any action necessary to stop a criminal. I might be sounding a bit biased but it's because I knew more about the justice system before reading this due to the fact that my uncle is a mall cop and I talk to him often about his job. If the police in Ferguson are corrupt like people claim (which I highly doubt), they might just be more violent or less patient with people who try to escape
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Isaac Fernandez
2/20/2015 12:29:37 am
I think that this article was definitely a little difficult to read. I think it was very insightful though! I really enjoyed how it spoke about how racial discrimination can be something potentially expressed in the court and how it can go to local policeman. I think it must be very difficult form the perspective of a police officer though. If they are located in lower class areas. They are constantly affected by the crimes that are occurring in the lower class areas. So I feel profiling is something that happens and it is something that everyone does now. If you see someone who looks like a criminal and they are partaking in criminal activity. If you see someone who is looking almost the same exact way, you are probably subconsciously see them as a criminal. It is something that people do everyday, which makes it insanely difficult for police officers not to do that. I feel they have a huge burden!
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Jordan Farrah
2/20/2015 12:31:26 am
I was not very surprised when reading this article. This is one of thousands of stories of police brutality. It occurs daily, I even read a story about a schizophrenic man who was beaten by police and then taken to a hospital for jaw reconstruction because he was beaten so bad and then left at the hospital with no ride. He ended up walking and hitch hiking 188 miles home. I believe that all this brutality is completely out of control and we need to change it.
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Dillon Prescott
2/20/2015 02:03:42 am
the fact that the system is mainly for one group of people while the other groups have many more opportunities and programs that they can pay for instead of going into the system. Thus the system gets more and more records from the lower class and less and less from the classes above them because of money for other programs that keep them out of the system.
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Chenoa Levy
2/20/2015 02:37:50 am
It's important to take in account the big picture and not just the small details you find fitting. This is vital when discussing the topic of corruption within in the police force. Although there is undoubtedly corrupt officers in the force it is unjust to group the rest in that category. The article discusses the different reasons for the Racial Disparity in the Criminal and Judicial systems which should be kept in mind when discussing racism in the police force. For example the fact minorities are more likely to come from a lower income with higher crime rates. As stated in the excerpts a great method would be communicating with public and bringing up the reason of racial disparity in the criminal system. A lot of people don't really understand what factors into the rates of minorities in prisons, and tend to lean towards corruption. Having the community aware of these issues may prevent further discrimination with arrests. Also as it said by making the system more diverse it will add the voices of minorities and have different perspectives. When it comes to the judicial branch the price of bail is also a leading cause as bail is often set too high for low income minorities while a white person with the same bail has a higher chance of affording it. Though corruption in the systems can't't be denied, the few rotten officers don't account for the opinions of the rest of the force.
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Eamonn McGuiness
2/20/2015 10:05:53 am
Questions for officer: What is your opinion of Ferguson? Have you ever shot someone? Did you regret it?
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