China Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 This article is an adapted excerpt from the new book "The Collapse of American Criminal Justice," from Harvard University Press. The collapse of American justice Not long ago, we had a low incarceration rate and a system that worked. Then everything started to unravel Among the great untold stories of our time is this one: the last half of the twentieth century saw America's criminal justice system unravel. Signs of the unraveling are everywhere. The nation's record- shattering prison population has grown out of control. Still more so the African American portion of that prison population: for black males, a term in the nearest penitentiary has become an ordinary life experience, a horrifying truth that wasn't true a mere generation ago. Ordinary life experiences are poor deterrents, one reason why massive levels of criminal punishment coexist with historically high levels of urban violence. Outside the South, most cities' murder rates are a multiple of the rates in those same cities sixty years ago -- notwithstanding a large drop in violent crime in the 1990s. Within cities, crime is low in safe neighborhoods but remains a huge problem in dangerous ones, and those dangerous neighborhoods are disproportionately poor and black. Last but not least, we have built a justice system that strikes many of its targets as wildly unjust. The feeling has some evidentiary support: criminal litigation regularly makes awful mistakes, as the frequent DNA-based exonerations of convicted defendants illustrate. Evidently, the criminal justice system is doing none of its jobs well: producing justice, avoiding discrimination, protecting those who most need the law's protection, keeping crime in check while maintaining reasonable limits on criminal punishment. It was not always so. For much of American history -- again, outside the South -- criminal justice institutions punished sparingly, mostly avoided the worst forms of discrimination, controlled crime effectively, and, for the most part, treated those whom the system targets fairly. The justice system was always flawed, and injustices always happened. Nevertheless, one might fairly say that criminal justice worked. It doesn't anymore. Click on the link for the full article/excerpt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Interesting read, I'm tempted to agree with it. Seems like the elected officials issue is bigger than I had though (rather has more of an impact), because in their campaigns they will tout how much they cut spending by and how much they increased convictions by, both of which are most likely tied to plea bargains that avoid costly jury trials. Gonna have to ponder this some, but I'd love to hear from some of our legal eagles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I blame the Justice system too for people who choose to break the law instead of obeying it..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancalagon the Black Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 So what's the solution? Mandatory sentencing? Ignoring extenuating circumstances? Pulling over and fining everyone who drives 56 in a 55 zone (they do it in other countries)? There is a ton of discrimination in the system, but figuring out how to flush it out is the tough part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCsportsfan53 Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I think one of the biggest root issues with it is, culturally, or love and obsession with revenge and punishment. Notice I didn't say justice. People treat taking a person's freedom away so lightly when it's not someone they know. I think we would do well to realize it's revenge, not justice, that is usually being sought and that while often tough to swallow, people getting away with crimes is far from the worst thing in the world. All of this, though, when discussing the decay of our criminal justice system's usefulness and fairness, has deep, strong, powerful roots in the war on drugs. The unconstitutional war, by it's very nature, necessitated indefensible laws and legal practices that by many have come to be accepted as for the greater good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 How about the breakdown of the family unit as a major factor? It coincides with increased govt in our daily lives....coincidence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madison Redskin Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 How about the breakdown of the family unit as a major factor?It coincides with increased govt in our daily lives....coincidence? I would think so. I would attribute the breakdown of the family unit to a variety of causes, such as dramatic shifts in societal views regarding premarital sex, divorce, single women, etc. I think it's rather hard to believe the New Deal, the Great Society, Obamacare, etc. are to blame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 you would think so to which? you could certainly link some of our welfare,ect. rules to splitting the family up,not as much the welfare as the way it is administered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busch1724 Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I would think so. I would attribute the breakdown of the family unit to a variety of causes, such as dramatic shifts in societal views regarding premarital sex, divorce, single women, etc. I think it's rather hard to believe the New Deal, the Great Society, Obamacare, etc. are to blame. Another factor is both parents working, and consumerism came along as a result. This leads to greed, premartial sex, the divorce culture, and so on. One of the things that happened during this recession is that the divorce rate has gone down. Saw an article somwhere, just don't remember where I found it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I would love to see more effort put into a "food culture" change in the cities. If you can't eat healthy, you can't think healthy. It's cheap to teach people how to feed themselves. I would also like to see some interesting ways to just clean up the cities in general. These things are starting to happen in Philly, I don't know what the results will be, but I have to imagine a healthy, cleaner place is a much less violent, ignorant place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busch1724 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I would love to see more effort put into a "food culture" change in the cities. If you can't eat healthy, you can't think healthy. It's cheap to teach people how to feed themselves. I would also like to see some interesting ways to just clean up the cities in general. These things are starting to happen in Philly, I don't know what the results will be, but I have to imagine a healthy, cleaner place is a much less violent, ignorant place. Well what's interesting about the cities to me is that where the trouble lies, it's mostly rental properties. Wherever there are a bunch of rentals, you will find a struggling section of town or neighborhood. The other thing that is interesting is that it costs more to live in the city, but the poor live there instead in a rural area where it would be cheaper. Just an observation which leads to this... cleaning up the cities involves getting businesses near troubled areas to get those people back to work, along with education, and sarcastically forcing all males and females to be spayed and neutered to break the cycle of government dependancy. This will clean up the court system and jails in record time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 It coincides with increased govt in our daily lives....coincidence? yes, obviously Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimmySmith Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 The government makes huge money off of crime. New laws and stiffer sentences are necessary to keep the machine rolling and growing. I am not sure where the concept of "justice" ever enters the equation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 I no not what I say so here goes. 1. War on drugs= to many petty crimes 2. 20 million illegals = deport the bad, keep the good (no shadow pop) 3. Police station outposts in bad areas with community outreach. Police brass to live in the worst areas. There, back to normal levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Nice list Thiebear KB, ya can't teach those that won't listen some of that type of programs have had success though,mainly through locals having invested of themselves in the community Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 Nice list ThiebearKB, ya can't teach those that won't listen some of that type of programs have had success though,mainly through locals having invested of themselves in the community I have to believe it only takes a few to listen to start something. If we started instituting urban farming classes and made culinary home ec mandatory, perhaps it could change some habits of the urban poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsluggo Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 How about the breakdown of the family unit as a major factor?It coincides with increased govt in our daily lives....coincidence? it coincides with global warming... hmmm! it also coincides with the fall of the soviet union.... hmmmmm! and what about the end of the muscle car era?............. hmmmmmm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twa Posted September 27, 2011 Share Posted September 27, 2011 the muscle car still lives :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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