The Trouble We’re All In

German Lopez of Vox presented an article on November 17th, 2017, that adds on to the long-existing issue of racial bias corrupting our country’s justice system. Here, we read about a noticable difference of punishment between races, studies showing that convicted black males receive up to 19.1% longer sentences than white males by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

But wait, how is this even allowed?

Racial bias may come to mind naturally to the reader. Race, Lopez describes, is said to affect the decisions and viewpoints of those who have the power to decide the verdict of an accused person. Study after study plead similar cases: “people are more likely to see black men as larger and more threatening than white men, even if the black men are not actually larger.” This may apply in some cases, as America’s long history of racial bias still lingers in the minds of today, instilling an unreasonable fear of colored peoples.

But even the chance that intentional unjust acts may come in play to enforce further discrimination is not overlooked. He suggests prosecutors choosing to push heavier charges towards people of color when both races are presented with the same cases. Judges are seen to be more lenient when deciding the fate of white criminals. Although not proven to be true, racial bias is too much of a strong and prominent issue that we must consider it a main cause to this injustice.

From here we ask: “How can we prevent something so deeply rooted in human history from causing us to continue making the same mistakes? How can we change the mindset of society to one that can be fair to all parties?”

These questions would be best answered if everyone wanted and had a plan to change, and raising awareness to these problems is a big step in striving for a better future for our society.