You Decide? #?BeforeFreedom

1/30/2017

31 Comments

What are the critical to quality (CTQ) factors that influence justice policy (sentencing)? Share your view of the ONE question in YOU DECIDE in the Reader (p. 45).

31 Comments

kimb

12/2/2013 10:44:26 pm

like this

Pricila Madrigal

2/3/2017 06:04:56 pm

I do think it is possible to eradicate discrimination from the justice system and still be able to protect victims of crime and the public safety. Holistically as a society, we have been raised to think that people of color are more dangerous than others. Which isn't really the case. There are plenty of people, all different skin colors committing the same crimes. protecting victims of crime isn't just about protecting them from a person of a certain ethnicity. For example, in most cases, a rape victim wasn't just out and about and attacked. It was most likely someone who was close to them. So who says it has to be someone of a certain color? We need to look at all different kinds of people to protect the public, anyone could be an offender.

Brenda Y Morgan link

2/4/2017 12:02:01 am

You pose valid points, and its definitely a different way of thinking. When writing my submission I feel like the points that you posed would have been beneficial to my post.

Robert Chapman

2/5/2017 03:21:30 pm

I definitely do agree with you, discrimination originates in society and the way we are raised in our society. In order to eliminate discrimination from the criminal justice system we need to start with eliminating discrimination from our society. As you say, promoting a non-discriminatory view in our culture would help to identify offenders of all race or background.

Kinsey Heuck

2/6/2017 11:35:15 am

I agree with a lot of your points, and reading your stood out to me the most. The issues of the hostility when it comes to people of color is a huge problem that we see in our everyday world. Good job on this!

Kinsey Heucke

2/6/2017 11:33:46 am

In my opinion, I do not think the sentencing scheme should be color blind. When it comes to eradicating discrimination from the justice system, we have seen all of this issues show up because of the different propositions that have been passed. Even though prisons are over crowded, the justice system should still protect victims of crime and the public safety. A lot of fights and issues happen throughout the prison systems, and public safety is the most important aspect when issues arise. Eradicating discrimination would make the justice system look worse than they already do because of how it is not fair and equal in some cases. The Brock Turner Case is a perfect example because of how he was treated differently just because he was white and his family has a lot of money. People should not feel ashamed when the attend a courtroom just because they are African American or Latino.

Brenda Y Morgan link

2/4/2017 12:00:32 am

Eradicating discrimination from the criminal justice system is almost close to impossible because when we have people who sit in our most respected seats in office preaching nothing but hate and disrespect this provokes people to share the same views. Being "colorblind" should have been something that the criminal justice system put in their guidelines when they first started, but rather they began discriminating against different races and labeling people. Eradicating the discrimination that people of color face is almost impossible, when we still have continuous amounts of racist people in this country who are running it.

Jennifer Dessel

2/4/2017 05:46:14 pm

I agree Brenda. We cannot have people in office spewing hate because it just creates more hate and does not solve anything. I think we must look at working together to come up with ways to stop discrimination in our system.

Nancy Torres

2/4/2017 06:50:20 pm

You make an excellent point about how difficult or impossible it is to eradicated discrimination when we have racist people running our country! Your post really allowed me to think about those influencing our country and the impact that this election has made on us. In my response I was more hopeful for the future but did agree that with those in power, we are somewhat stuck in our horrible discriminatory ways.

Danielle McCreadie-Spurgeon

2/5/2017 09:32:42 pm

I think we could have been closer to having a colorblind system if it weren’t for the new president, he allowed people to open up in ways that are disgusting and hurtful. However with time will it make society worse, or will it improve? In other words, will more people learn to stand up to the racial aspect of society and demand change? I truly hope so.

Jennifer L Dessel

2/4/2017 05:50:10 pm

I do not believe we should have a sentencing scheme that is colorblind. I think we need to be aware of a persons socioeconomic status as well as their ties to the community. For instance, if he/she is a single parent and goes to prison that may mean that their children will end up in the system which could harm the children's future by taking them away from loved ones. I also think we will not be able to eliminate discrimination completely but we can help protect victims of crime and the public safety as well as criminals through restorative justice and attempting to restore the ties to the community.

Nancy Torres

2/4/2017 06:43:59 pm

Eradicating discrimination from the justice system is something that appeared to be possible until the presidential elections brought out the worst in people. I believe many people came out and showed their true colors and were not ashamed to have discriminatory thoughts and ideas. I believe that for now, eradicating discrimination from the justice system is something that won't easily happen for a very long time because we have taken a step back and basically allowed others to believe it is okay for us to see color and discriminate based off of what we see our government officials do. A great example of this is how the US has been taking in refugees from allover the world and then Trump decided to ban them based off of his personal beliefs. Seeing how Americans have protested this and fought for the rights' of the refugees does give me a lot of hope for the next generation of American's. Perhaps someday we will see the end of discriminatory practices and be able to punish those who commit crimes with a colorblind lens.

Pricila Madrigal

2/6/2017 05:37:37 pm

You make a very valid point when you say it seemed to be possible until this presidential election. So many people have turned against each other because of their political views. Not many people had an issue with accepting refugees until now, Trump has influenced the views of many people and I think this is just the beginning.

Robert Chapman

2/5/2017 03:41:03 pm

Eliminating discrimination from the justice system is something that is possible; however, it would not be easy to achieve. In order to eliminate discrimination and racism from our justice system we would need to eliminate it from our society. Even if there were anti-discriminatory legislation/ regulations put in place to prevent racism in the justice system, there would still be law enforcement officers who don't enforce the law with a "colorblind" way. Thus the only way to completely eradicated racism in the justice system would be to educate and raise all youth with a strong non-discriminatory view. Furthermore, enforcing the law in an equal, "colorblind" way would still protect victims of crime as it would identify offenders who are currently not focused on due to discrimination.

Casey Rogers

2/6/2017 09:11:39 am

Robert, I think you re totally correct. One main way to eliminate racism within society and especially the legal system is to educate our generation and generations below us. We have come a long way with racial discrimination, but we are not even close to absolving it.

Danielle McCreadie-Spurgeon

2/5/2017 09:28:07 pm

The question of whether our sentencing scheme needs to be colorblind is quite controversial. While I completely agree that our system needs to be colorblind based on the racial disparities between the lengths in sentencing (based on race and ethnicity) and the comparison between the majority of those who are in jail/prison (minorities) and the reality of those who commit most crimes (whites). The system is suppose to be fair and equal; however it is clear that the justice system is far from that. Therefore as stated before I do believe we need a colorblind system, but the issue is if we don’t have one now is it possible to ever get one? This point in time has proven to be the least racially biased time compared to our history; nonetheless again our criminal justice system is far from equal. I wonder is the best and only way to have a colorblind courtroom is to find a way to hide the person’s identity. As crazy as it sounds it could very much so level out the racial disparities.

Casey Rogers

2/6/2017 09:14:15 am

Danielle, what crimes are way more prevalent and always slip below the radar. It frustrates me that money and power allows criminals to escape punishments for crimes they committed. I think it is possible to reach a colorblind system by teaching out kids and the generations below us what is right and wrong. It may just take much longer than we will ever be abel to see.

Casey Rogers

2/6/2017 09:08:49 am

There are many changes that are needed and possible when it comes to discrimination within the justice system. Media is one of the most influential sources Americans have to structure their judgements. People of color are labelled as bad or criminals, when in reality almost every white man that works for some big business is a crook in some way. Having a color blind system would leave less emphasis on the racial background of criminals and more on the actually characteristics of that individual. With less attention being paid to a certain group, less people will be wrongfully incarcerated. It is sad that innocent people are tried in courts and convicted of crimes that they didn't commit just because they fit into a certain idea of what a "criminal" looks like.

Noema Aguilar

2/6/2017 04:26:19 pm

With time and education we can hope to one day reach a justice system without discrimination. However, because the foundation of this country is based on racist and discriminatory ideas it is hard for us to move away from those ways. It is possible to do this through educating our new generations and beginning to change the way we see people. I am conflicted on this topic because although I feel the justice system should be colorblind I also feel that it should not be. While not being colorblind can seem racist, we cannot deny that there are in facts differences between people due to color or other aspects of their life. To more adequately cater to everyone's issues I think sometimes we should look to those aspects to benefit those people. At the same time, being not being colorblind more often than not leads to discrimination and that is not the same thing as trying to cater to one's specific needs. It is a difficult task but I think with time we can slowly turn to a colorblind system that treats everyone the same.

Kiley Levesque

2/6/2017 04:48:52 pm

Noema, you have a great point by mentioning education as a key aspect in eradicating discrimination. A lot of children grow up with ideologies that may come from their parents or other kids around them. Teaching diversity and educating our youth on discrimination early on would be a benefit for them and our future altogether.

Adriana Avalos

2/6/2017 10:41:29 pm

You make a great point about education being important in the lives of youth and how they make their own opinions. Even with this class we're having conversations that I've never had in other classes so I believe it is important to teach future generations about race as they grow up. By doing this it makes them more aware of their surroundings and of people who aren't like them so they can form their own opinion instead of being influenced by those who raised them.

Chinasa Mackey

2/6/2017 04:37:42 pm

In my opinion, I don’t think our sentencing scheme should be colorblind. I think that would create a huge problem within our justice system reason being is because your race and ethnicity defines who you are as a person, if you take that away people would not understand where you come from and who you are. Yes, if it were colorblind then people would potentially be treated the same but it would take away self identity and in my opinion that's the most important thing to have in this world, knowing who you are and where you came from. To answer the question is it possible to eradicate discrimination within the justice system my answer is no. I think given our country's history it is close to impossible to do so. In order to eradicate discrimination in our justice system we have to start with the American people as a whole. We would have to get rid of all these racist and prejudice stereotypes that we have been fed for many years. If we start with that then it might be possible but it would take years on top of years to do so.

Joi Fisher

2/6/2017 07:03:45 pm

I agree that making the system colorblind would potentially allow people to be treated the same, but that is not exactly what is necessary for the success of justice administration. I think rather than equality what the system needs is more equity. Equality only puts everyone on a level playing field. Equity puts everyone on a level playing field, while also acknowledging the influence of privileges, biases, disadvantages, etc.

Kiley Levesque

2/6/2017 04:42:57 pm

I believe that race is an important topic when discussing our criminal justice system. The question of whether or not we make the system colorblind is worth considering, but may pose some drawbacks. If the DOJ or UCR remained colorblind years prior to today we would have never realized the disproportionality when it comes to minority incarceration. Keeping track of people by race can help us come up with reasons to why one race is disproportionate to another. Although the higher rates for minority incarceration may cause negative stigma, it can also be used as a tool for our justice system. These statistical figures of race allow criminal justice students, professors, and criminologists to study our system, pose questions, and implement policies. It is a way for society to know what is going on behind bars and in our system. I feel it is possible to eradicate discrimination from our justice system, but it will take many years to do so. As society becomes more comfortable talking aloud about racial disparities it will shine light on our issues within the system.

Joi Fisher

2/6/2017 06:57:19 pm

Due to the origins of the justice administration system, I believe racial discrimination and more importantly racial disproportionality are an inherent element necessary for the system to serve its intended purpose. But in order to protect victims of crime and enhance public safety, these discriminatory practices must end and social issues that lead to crime must be addressed. A "tough on crime" approach and mass incarceration have not been effective and have actually had effects that contrast the original justification for their implementation. Concisely, instead of scaring kids from committing crimes, knowing someone who is in jail or prison has, in many ways, normalized involvement in the justice administration system. These particular kids are disproportionately from minority communities. In this respect, the justice administration system must come up with new means to reintroduce offenders back into the community, and, these communities themselves must be environments conducive to offenders' rehabilitative success and preventative of budding criminality in its youth behaviors.

Adriana Avalos

2/6/2017 10:48:50 pm

After reading and everything we have discussed in class I believe our system should be colorblind. Although that would be almost impossible to accomplish, if people didn't focus on color and instead of crimes I believe that there would be less people in prison and there would be more fair treatment of everyone. A prime example of this is Brock Turner. Although he raped a woman while she was unconscious he simply got a couple months of prison and was even let out early. Then there's someone like Oscar Grant. All he was doing was reaching for his pocket when a police officer shot and killed him because he believed he was going for his gun. These two drastic measures show how color influences not only how people think but more importantly, how our justice system thinks. As a society we must realize that our system focuses too much on color and teach our future generations to be colorblind so everyone can be treated fairly and with the respect they deserve.

Noema Aguilar

2/6/2017 11:04:24 pm

I think you make a good point when you mention the prison population. Nowadays the overcrowding that we see in prisons is not only unsafe, it also represents the disparities and discrimination within the criminal justice system. Your examples are also a representation of these two issues in that they deal with race. Although it does seem something almost impossible to do, I think you bring up some good ideas as to how it can be done.

Jasmine Delgadillo

2/6/2017 11:23:12 pm

I think you made very good points and completely agree that the system should be colorblind. Your example of Brock Turner and Oscar Grant unfortunately are cases that are far too common today. I also think it is important to note that cases as such are so widely aired on the media and we never really hear many of the other things going on. Many times we see people of color being the perpetrators when that is not always the case. If the system were to be color blind I think media would have to be as well or else this fear of crime and racial conception of crime would still be on the forefront of the general public's minds.

Jasmine Delgadillo

2/6/2017 11:10:17 pm

As stated in the reader there are a list of CTQ factors that affect policymaker's when deciding on policies. I believe it is necessary and can be very beneficial to have a sentencing scheme that is colorblind. As we know, African Americans and Latinos make up for the largest population of inmates,even though they only make up for about 30% of the countries population. Many have argued that the system is "racist" or discriminates against minority groups and is in favor of the white Americans. This is a common belief among many people of color because of how highly affected they are. Although I strongly believe that our schemes need to be colorblind so that all people, no matter the color of your skin, get equal treatment, I think it is going to be a cultural change that will take a lot of education and time.

Abigail Bulnes

2/7/2017 01:41:29 pm

Eradicating discrimination, in my opinion, is a long shot. My reason for saying that is because there are still generations before us with hate in their hearts and hate in their minds against those with a different color skin because they do not meet "the ideal American" physicality through their eyes. The generations before us are influenced by a higher power who has made it seem okay to act and speak out against minorities in a violent and often times, in a derogatory way. They then go on to teach the generation after them that it is okay to do so as well, a.k.a their children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren. And the cycle will continue. The ideal resolution for any discrimination in the system would be to incorporate colorblind sentencing scheme, but the system has been this way for decades and it'll take additional decades to change that. And that is the unfortunate truth, but that does not mean we should stop trying.

Brandon Chin

2/14/2017 10:15:34 am

I agree that you cannot completly eradicate color blindness and discrimination when it comes to the sentencing process. Skin color is a way in which law officials can separate the good and the bad. I'm not saying that one group is just plain bad compared to the other group. It's just, certain minority groups are caught and sentenced with doing crimes rather than other minorities.

You Decide? #?BeforeFreedom

What are the critical to quality (CTQ) factors that influence justice policy (sentencing)? Share your view of the ONE question in YOU DECIDE in the Reader (p. 45).

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