Major Flaws In The Criminal Justice Of Several Nations
These days there multiple changes taking place in this world we live in,many of which are good but some maybe for the worst.The criminal justice system is a system that is meant to convict someone of their wrong doing and only that , but in each and every country there are number of flaws in their Justice System.Some forms of the major flaws in the criminal justice system of several nations that are significant to most parts of the world are wrongful conviction, racial injustice and corruption.
In Anyang,China Qin Yang Hong was tortured for three days and three nights by local authorities,whenever he fell asleep they would kick him in the gut.The pain was so intense that he would pass out.He broke down on the fourth day and admitted to a crime which he did not do.He was sentenced to death.This is just one of many cases that involves wrongful conviction as a flaw in the justice system.Having to torture someone who is incent is something that can have a major effect on a country as it puts any given citizen in harms way of being tortured by the local authorities for a crime they did not commit.As the case above many innocent defendants make outright statements or plead guilty because at some point during the interrogation process confessing will be more beneficial to them than continuing to maintain their innocence.According to the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Eyewitness misidentifications were a factor in over 70% of wrongful convictions.Eyewitness misidentification is also of the ways to be wrongfully convicted.Eyewitness misidentification is single greatest cause of wrongful conviction worldwide.In many cases of wrongful conviction,the government plays a big part.Government officials take steps to ensure that a defendant is convicted despite weak evidence or even clear proof of innocence.Often,statements from people with incentives to testify, particularly that are not disclosed to the jury are the main evidence in convicting an innocent person.People have been wrongfully convicted in cases which snitches are paid to testify favors in return for their testimony according to the “Michigan Law Post.”
African Americans make up 18% of the American population,they constitute 28% of all arrests,39% of all inmates held in prison and 42% of the population that are on death row.On the other hand “Whites” make up 56% of the American population and 68% of all arrests, yet only 40% of all inmates held in prison and 48% of the population on death row.This clearly states that racial injustice is one of the major flaws in the criminal justice system.Racial profiling,the identification of a potential criminal on the basis of their skin color is pervasive.Police.Police in many countries exercise racial profiling very often.In countries such as India,they have a caste system where by every Hindu is born into their own caste.This causes many crimes involving people of the lower caste(untouchables or Dalits) being raped or murdered by the upper caste to go unnoticed by the Police officials.There was one case in India that had gone public worldwide,55 Dalits were murdered by the upper caste(Their Employers) in their rural village because they had asked for a raise in their wages.In America,the police target the “Ghetto” areas in in which African Americans are the majority race.They target them hoping to find drugs or some form of criminal activity taking place but having drug dealings or criminal activities take place in white communities is just as common.Discriminating a person is the worst act a person can do we can judge a person by what caste they are born in or the color of their skin.
Corruption can be defined as “The misuse of entrusted power for personal benefit.Corruption takes place in many countries,its just the degree of it differs but it takes place all over the world.Police corruption is a worldwide problem and has been going on for many years.Corruption is wrong in many given ways,firstly it’s a crime,it projects more drug dealings and other criminal activities to take place.According to “The Times Of Today” Election fraud corruption had been on top of the list for ways of corruption.In the 2006 elections in Ukraine,officials of one of the presidential campaigns were know to have bribed more than a few hundred thousand people.In the late 2000s and early 2010s, around 67% of Ukrainians who had dealt with government said that they had been directly involved in corrupt transactions.In Pakistan,30-59.9% of the respondents admitted to paying a bribe to a service provider in 2008.In 2010 a survey was conducted in order to determine if any any individual in their household was a subject to corruption when interacting with the judicial system,69% had agreed.
The criminal justice system has existed for decades and so has the major flaws in it.Changing it over night would not be possible but with the right steps anything is possible.Many countries have to be sure when they convict a criminal and get their facts right to avoid wrongful conviction as ones life is beyond important.The government has to start setting an example by not participating in dirty acts such as corruption and start apprehending individuals who do,as for corruption can be very unfair to citizens of the country who abide by the rules ans regulations.Racial discrimination in countries such as India have to be tightened so that the cast system can be put aside and that everyone can be treated equally.
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Work Cited:
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“Criminal Justice Watchdog Set to Overhaul Flawed System.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 19 Feb. 2013.
Carthwhait, Dave. “How to Fix America’s Broken Criminal Justice System.” The Christian Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Dec. 2010.
Dayal, Ravi. “Need to Reform Criminal Justice System: Supreme Court Judge.” The Times Of India. N.p., 25 Mar. 2012.