Defining Whether the Criminal Justice System Is Broken
In today’s society we are often forced to challenge our own beliefs. In past times, the only solution to crime was to lock criminals up and throw away the key. Nowadays we’re reconsidering this approach. With our prison system being overwhelmed by the mass incarceration of minorities. In “Is the criminal justice system broken?” essay is defined why this system is needed to be fixed and what we can do for it. This fix will come in the shape of Criminal Justice reform. And we must make haste.
Criminal justice reform in the United States refers to reform aimed at fixing perceived errors in the criminal justice system. Goals of organizations spearheading the movement for criminal justice reform include decreasing the United States' prison population, reducing prison sentences that are perceived to be too harsh and long, altering drug sentencing policy, policing reform, reducing overcriminalization, and juvenile justice reform. In an article on criminal justice reform, American Attorney Bob Barr writes, “With more than 4,000 federal criminal laws on the books...pulling teeth with tweezers…would be [easier than] pressing…for reform of our nation’s vast system of criminal laws.” From the number of criminal laws alone, we can see that our criminal justice system is in need of a revamp. Because not only are our laws intimidating in number, they’re also extremely harsh in sentencing.
Moreover, With higher amounts of Americans in the criminal justice system than previous times, criminal justice reform has evolved into a undeniable requirement.To successfully alter this system, changes need to be made to eliminate harsh policies and racial profiling. “Instead of providing treatment for people with addictions, over the past few decades there has been a war on people who use drugs, fought through the criminal justice system,” writes Natassia Walsh. And her opinion is not formed without reason. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 52% of all Federally sentenced offenders are serving time on drug offenses, and of that 52%, 76% are African American or Latino. These statistics are from 2012, so when we account for time and inflation, the true numbers themselves are enough to make a person sick.
Opposition to criminal justice reform movement typically is stated by conservatives who do not understand the faults in our criminal justice system.Those that consider this position also typically reject that idea from movement activists that says the criminal justice system operates in a sense that is racially unequal, and do not see the War on Drugs for what it really is. A twenty first century Jim Crow. Rather than see the system for what it really is, they write off reformers for having a “dark prejudice,” or discrimination against law enforcement officers. In their mind policing, as well as sentencing, is regarded as a colorblind activity that has no information for this complexion of offenders. They’d even go as far as to advocate for capital punishment, when even they know that in reality “execution cannot truly represent justice,” writes Dudley Sharp, an advocate for the death penalty. Not even the strongest in support for our current criminal justice system can ignore its blatant flaws.
In conclusion, our criminal justice system is broken down and in need of fixing. We are currently incarcerating more prisoners than we can handle, and of those incarcerated, an overwhelming majority are African American and or Latino. If this is allowed to continue, we as a nation will be turning a blind eye to the very obvious racial inequalities in our current society, and that simply cannot be.
