Jo. K. H.
Prof. C.
English 1A
16 December 2014 Some police officers take advantage of their authoritative positions with excessive brutality and, in some cases, the misuse of deadly force, which is resulted from racism and the known lack of consequences.
Blacks and whites have had different historical experiences with the criminal justice system. Largely, whites see the law as a power to serve and protect their rights and their acreage in a democracy. While, blacks have been more likely to view law as a force that denies their rights. For years the judicial system refused to offer protection to blacks from slave owners, white rapists, and even racist mobs.
In 1693, Philadelphia court officials “authorized the police to take up any "Negro" seen "gadding about" without a pass from his or her master” (Chaney). This judiciary command, to stop and detain any black found on the road, gave no distinction between free or slave blacks. The Black Codes of the Southern region permitted militiamen (soldiers who are also civilians) to arrest and restrain blacks whose presence aroused suspicion (Staples). The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, jeopardized not only law enforcement officials, but also average citizens with hefty fines if they failed to assist in the arrest of alleged runaway slaves, when the doubt could be grounded only on written claims; likewise, free and enslaved blacks didn’t have the right or ability to represent themselves in court against such claims (Staples). Alongside such legislation, the US Supreme Court has acted unashamedly against the lawful rights of blacks and other ethnic groups until the 1950s (Chaney).
Throughout the Jim Crow era, the criminal justice system allowed laws that in practice disproportionately targeted blacks, such as homelessness laws that criminalized black men if “caught” unemployed. Other ethnic groups have not by any means