Introduction
Criminal justice in society entails institutions and practices that work towards reducing and eliminating crimes, maintaining a peaceful society, punishing convicted criminals, and providing rehabilitation to those who can change into good people. The US Criminal Justice system is considered among the strongest globally (Spade, 2020, May 18, para 1). The concepts in the US Law have been designed to protect the defendant’s right at the court and ensure that cases brought in get as much fair trial as possible. The country’s regulations are among the most competent human rights measures in the world. However, the amendments have rarely been put into practice. Prejudices and unfair practices are widespread in the US criminal justice system. Fairness has been undermined through practices such as overburdened courts and public defendants, increased socioeconomic and racial biases, and plea bargains between prosecutors and defendants. The main weaknesses associated with the current US criminal justice system include decreased accessibility to justice among the poor and racial minority groups, high time consumption among the poor, and increased complexity.
Weaknesses in the Criminal Justice System
It has become expensive to afford justice in the US. Justice is only affordable among rich people and high-earning corporate organizations. Crimes associated with the poor have long sentences and greater punishments than those committed by white-collar and executive criminals in America. For example, white-collar crimes, such as environmental pollution, are charged with low fines compared to poor people-related crimes, such as theft. The fines implicated to the corporate firms are highly affordable to these firms. On the other hand, the poor always face the full force of the criminal justice, even in cases where they are not guilty of the charging issue.
Socioeconomic and racial biases are significant weaknesses of the current justice system. In the recent past, we have seen criminal justice systems and police forces arresting black and Latino Americans and accusing them of cases not charged to white Americans. During sentencing, these people have often been subjected to racial profiling, prejudiced decisions concerning specific criminal allegations, unfair police targets, and racial discrimination. For example, between 1995 and 1997, 70% of traffic stops were explicitly aimed at harassing black drivers (Allen, 2020). Additionally, black and Latino groups are the racial minorities with low-income levels. The judicial system forces people to depend on public attorneys when faced with charges.
Moreover, these public defenders are often overwhelmed with cases and overworked because they handle unlimited cases daily. Due to reduced time and pressure to complete many tasks within a given period, these public defenders are never sufficiently prepared to handle cases affecting the poor in courts. This factor undermines the quality of justice among the poor and minority groups, increasing their burden when overseeing issues. That is why the rich have a clear advantage over the poor in criminal justice. The rich have money to hire a private defendant who is rarely overwhelmed by many issues. The defendant has time to concentrate on the case, and hence the rich get justice and could even mistreat the poor who have no support in court.
Additionally, the social justice system is becoming more complex each day. Currently, courts in America have many cases not yet solved, and prisons are over-occupied with prisoners, leaving not enough space for additional prisoners. Judges are now tasked with ensuring that they provide fair judgments and explicitly work toward minimizing the number of convicts as much as they can. This system has turned courts and prosecutors into using plea bargaining to reduce procedures in courts and sentences of convicts in courts of law. The approach entails where the prosecutor urges the criminal to plead guilty to an offense in exchange for an agreed drop of accusations or rate of sentences in his case (Britannica, 2021). The approach has become a challenge for the suspected criminals who are desperate and willing to have their cases come to an end. The prosecutor may defy their agreement and decide to charge the suspected person with even higher charges than would occur if the agreement was not undertaken.
It is a requirement that the suspect remains innocent until found guilty. It is sometimes a disadvantage to the defendant as the suspected criminal may produce substantial but fake information that would prove his innocence. Genuinely guilty people may interfere with the evidence or identify a hole in the evidence and use it to free themselves from the case. Other weaknesses include high time consumption in courts, especially for the poor, and reduced reformation when the criminals go to prison (Spade, 2020, May 18, para 6). The poor depend on public defendants to have their cases sorted. These public defendants are overloaded with overwhelming cases, hence hardly having enough time to deal with the cases affecting their clients. Therefore, the clients are wasting years of their life seeking justice in the courts and end up failing.
Moreover, the high number of court cases causes lagging of associated decisions, which are time-consuming for the public who wish for justice. , it is expected that when prisoners go to prison, they reformed into good and resourceful people in society. Criminal psychologists in the US crime show that it is not happening in the prisons. To those who cannot reform or be rehabilitated, the just way to protect society is to incarcerate them or keep them out of society.
Recommendations
To increase justice among poor Americans and minority groups, the courts should set realistic fines, charges, and life sentences for the individuals. In many cases, the poor face an excessive force of the law in more minor evil crimes. The charges in the form of fines should be at least those that an individual can pay and feel punished. More charges should be implicated among the rich and fewer charges among the poor (Lattimore, Spohn, & DeMichele, 2022). They increase fairness and reduce crime scenes by the rich, who are already sure they can afford associated case implications.
Additionally, more public defendants should be employed in the court system to ensure that the poor access optimum justice. Often, the poor spend most of their time in court due to reduced access to qualified defendants to take their cases forward. They waste much time and finally lose in cases, especially when their opponent has access to a private defendant. In response to the increased number of cases in the courts of law, more defendants should be employed to cater to all citizens regardless of their socioeconomic status.
Prosecutors are responsible for filing charges that result in offenders receiving sentences and conditions. Therefore, they should be made responsible for filing the allegations and related plea negotiating choices. The prosecutor decides on required minimum terms, parole sentences, and whether to drop charges or impose harsh punishments based on plea negotiating choices (Lattimore, Spohn, & DeMichele, 2022). The prosecutors must prove to the court that providing a particular decision concerning the offender will not negatively affect the defendant or society if the offender’s charges allow him to be acquitted. The decisions by the prosecutor must be put in writing so that he remains responsible for any uncertainties that may occur in the future. Individuals who have shorter sentences and may be released back to the public should be subjected to probation and rehabilitation centers to rectify their behavior and safely return to society. It may be associated with shortening life sentences to reduce overcrowding in prisons and increased cases in courts.
Conclusion
Based on what we see in the American criminal justice system, the system has failed in its fight for justice, mainly for the poor. Societal pressure increased power among prosecutors, and decreased public advocates have led to failure. Justice in the country is now for the rich, who can hire private defendants to fight for their rights in court. The minority groups are left with no one to advocate on their behalf. They face severe legal implications compared to the rich. They are charged with fines and sentences higher than what crimes entail. A criminal justice system is fundamentally built to ensure that the law effectively protects the accused and that they are genuinely charged with their crimes. The criminal justice system must wake up and reevaluate ways to eliminate associated biases and prejudices that affect court outcomes. Lawyers and judges should be committed to providing quality justice to the accused. This system may bring a solution to the increased injustices in the courts. Moreover, essential steps must be taken to ensure the convicted criminal’s reform and successfully back into society after serving their sentence.
References
Allen, J. (2020). Weaknesses of the Criminal Justice System. Web.
Britannica. (2021). Benefits of plea bargaining. Web.
Lattimore, P. K., Spohn, C., & DeMichele, M. (2022). A better path forward for criminal justice: Reimagining pretrial and sentencing. Brookings Institution. Web.
Spade, A. (2020). The Advantages & Disadvantages of the Criminal Justice System. Legal Beagle. Web.