The American criminal justice system is subject to criticism as well as its being referred to as more of a non-system by some for reasons that are intricately linked to different factors, including systemic fallacies and inconsistency in approaches and outcomes. This facture then makes one questions the whole system all along its being, its uniformity, fairness and effectiveness. This could be carried out by proper comprehension of the critical issues and the reasons for this perspective.
Initially, the injustice of the American criminal justice is the most determining thing that characterizes it as a system which is not. Unlike some other countries that may have a centralized system where all the crime-related matters are handled by a single body, the American system is composed of the federal, state, and local jurisdictions that all have their own legal systems, ways, and agencies of handling crime. Diversity among the various criminal justices systems is mostly due to the presence of inconsistencies in how justice is accessed; as a result, sentences, access to resources and outcomes depend on where one comes from and one’s economic class.
Furthermore, the adversarial character of the American legal system designed to provide fairness by fiercely advocating for the parties can, by accident, give way to the tendency to win at any cost rather than pursuing truth and justice. In this adversarial system, the parties, during litigation over a case, often use tactics like legal strategies, procedural technicalities, and resource availability to influence the outcome of the case, sometimes even at the expense of principles of fairness and equity, which should be the primary goal.
In addition to the non-systemic perspective of the American criminal justice system, the problem of mass incarceration is widely seen as a long-standing matter. The U.S. is one of the countries that incarcerate the highest number of individuals in the world, and millions of people are behind bars, thereby leading to the over-representation of communities of color and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. This phenomenon is driven by several reasons: for instance, harsh sentencing laws, mandatory minimum, war on drugs, and privatization of prisons all cease to work as a rehabilitative approach because they foster a punitive approach to justice.
Minority groups’ ongoing marginalization in the criminal justice system, together with systemic biases and injustices, have been the primary causes of their disenfranchisement. The factual evidence of racial inequities in police stops, arrests, pre-trial detention, sentencing, and parole decisions is undeniably present, reflecting the existence of the systemic bias that would like to abolish the idea of equal justice under the law.
The people against the criminal system argue that cultural, social, and economic factors have a noteworthy function in sustaining inequalities in the legal system. The impact and the interplay of the system on mass involvement on the outcome of the criminal instances can be can be attributed to the deficiencies in social justice factors, such as economic difficulties, mental health issues, disbalances in education opportunities, and inadequate legal representation among others.
Besides, they will realize that the mentioned systems are far from perfect and they will not be able to completely eliminate crime and resolve the social problems. However, this incarceration has not been successful in cutting the recidivism rate, but it has been used to just contribute to the violence, trauma, and the societal upheavals that are majorly experienced in poor communities.
Unlike this, reparative justice, diversionary programs, and community-based services plus education and social services can prove more preferable because they address the main issues and offer better means of rehabilitation and reintegration.
To sum up, the U.S. criminal justice system could be characterized as a non-system, which is a complicated network of systemic failures, structural inequalities, and a lack of philosophical framework. Overcoming these challenges necessitates holistic reforms that include the following: equality, accountability, and social justice must be the main values. The transformation of retributive mindsets to more embracing, fair, and restorative ways be the path to crime and social norms issues’ resolution. It is only when the concerned individuals and groups put their minds together and take concrete steps to fight the root causes of the problems that the American justice system can be at long last, regarded as such an instrument of justice and safety.
References
Larkin, P. J., & Canaparo, G. (2022). The fallacy of systemic racism in the American criminal justice system. Liberty University Law Review, forthcoming.
Mayeux, S. (2018). The idea of the criminal justice system. Am. J. Crim. L., 45, 55.
Ortiz, J. M., Cox, A., Kavish, D. R., & Tietjen, G. (2022). Let the convicts speak: A critical conversation about the ongoing language debate in convict criminology. Criminal Justice Studies, 35(3), 255-273.
Prout, L. (2023). A Process Evaluation of the RAIV Project: Transforming Approaches to Intimate Partner Violence (Doctoral dissertation, University of Colorado at Denver).
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