Criminal Justice Racial Disparity and Discrimination and...

Criminal law is based on the principle of actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea. The principle is to the extent that a man is not guilty of his acts, actus in the absence of a guilty conscience, mens rea (Gardner, 2009). To this end, criminal law justice provides that the person alleging the commission of a crime must proof beyond reasonable doubt that the accused person(s) possessed mens rea, if the court is to hold a criminal liability against the accused. In the case of People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson (1995) or what has come to be famously known as the O.J. Simpson Trial is a classical illustration of how highly the U.S. criminal justice regards the beyond reasonable doubt principle. The United States of†¦show more content†¦Further the existence of these disparities varies. They may exist due to differing levels of criminal activities, may also be contributed by having the law enforcement department laying emphasis on particular communities, can also be caused by legislature that gives rise to such notions as well as decision making by criminal justice practitioners who have a wide range of discretion in regards to the justice process at one or more stages in the system. In criminal law, illegitimate or unwarranted racial disparity is resulted when there is dissimilar treatment of people who are under similar situation where the dissimilar treatment is based on race. Such treatment is in most cases caused by biasness though can in some be influenced by factors that are sparsely related to race. Another cause is unguarded, individual or institution level decisions that are race-based. Structural racism has also been adduced mostly where there is evidence of longstanding difference in the treatment of individuals who are deemed to a highly correlated race characteristic. On the other hand, discrimination has also been witnessed with the criminal justice system. This is where factors like race, sex, or even religion may be used to determine how one is to be treated under law. It has been accounted that in the United States, such discrimination has been seen to exist from the initial stages of criminal justice. This is based on the realization that inShow MoreRelatedMinorities and Justice Essay1793 Words   |  8 PagesMinorities and Justice Television shows such as Dateline, 60 Minutes and 20/20 have often aired segments on discrimination within the justice system through hidden cameras recording police behavior towards minorities, interviews with minorities falsely accused or mistreated, and by referring to capital punishment statistics seemingly biased especially towards blacks. The Justice Files has produced several biographies on minorities who were subjected to some atrocity by the American justice systemRead MoreBeing Against Death Penalty Essay1104 Words   |  5 PagesBeing Against the Death Penalty Supporters of the death penalty often thinks that taking a life for a life is being instrumental in justice. However, several studies and research have shown that taking the life of another human being through capital punishment only continues a cycle of violence. Furthermore, other research has shown that flaws in our justice system has led to innocent being prosecuted, guilty being set free, and additional biases being present during death row cases. There is noRead MoreThe Motivation Of Criminals Defined More Than One Common Denominator Essay2497 Words   |  10 Pages The motivation of criminals encompasses more than one common denominator, however, the degree of culpability and causation are within close proximity of one another. People every day engage in illicit acts for a myriad of reasons that run the gamut from white-collar crimes such as embezzling large sums of money to retail thefts. Gang related and drug-crimes that result in violence have plagued metropolitan ar eas throughout American. There is never any justification for taking someone’s life