Grosch 1

John Grosch

Mrs. Shumate

English 2 period 5

12 May 2017

Unlawful Conviction in the Criminal Court System

Why are black americans convicted more easily than any other race? The answer to that question

is corrupt and racist politicians. For years black americans have been convicted of crimes that

have no evidence on them and it is still happening to this day. Black Americans are more easily

convicted then any other race because of stereotypes and from past black american crimes.

Factually innocent people have been exonerated and wrongfully convicted when all the evidence

points against them. In many cases of African American men,proved to be innocent, have been

racially profiled as criminals and thieves. Although there have been some men that do crimes it

isnt right to profile a whole race. This links to the book monster because he is immediately seen

as guilty. African American men would face the highest rate of exoneration because they are

also the most likely to be incarcerated compared with all other demographic groups. In the

criminal court system, blacks are more likely to be convicted because they cannot afford

representation and are, in most cases, the victims of unlawful convictions. Some African

Americans cannot afford representation so they are immediately seen as guilty. In monster this is

an exact case of this. Two central features of the criminal justice system are its impact on

minorities, both absolutely and compared to whites,' and the often inadequate quality of

representation provided to those who cannot afford to retain counsel.

 Grosch 2

There is an article I read that informs the reader about problems in our society. The article tells

you that child abuse convictions are 50% unlawful convictions. This article isnt about race but

about gender and inequality. It would be nearly nine years after Jacquaris deathand eight

years of wrongful imprisonment for Harrisbefore his accidental death became legally factual,

with her receipt of a certificate of innocence in 2014.

I learned from all of this that some of our politicians need to be behind bars rather than a lot of

the innocent people that they put behind them. Unlawful convictions are so unjust and awful yet

it still happens all the time. Yea some people may be guilty but not every black man is guilty

without a valid case of proof. Black Americans are more easily convicted then any other race

because of stereotypes and from past black american crimes.

Works Cited

CHIN, GABRIEL J. "Race and the Disappointing Right to Counsel." Yale Law Journal,
vol. 122, no. 8, June 2013, pp. 2236-2259. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=88990933&site=ehost-live.

Smith, Earl and Angela Hattery. "Race, Wrongful Conviction & Exoneration." Journal of
African American Studies, vol. 15, no. 1, Mar. 2011, pp. 74-94. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.1007/s12111-010-9130-5.

Webster, Elizabeth and Jody Miller. "Gendering and Racing Wrongful Conviction:
Intersectionality, "Normal Crimes," and Women's Experiences of Miscarriage of Justice."
Albany Law Review, vol. 78, no. 3, Oct. 2015, pp. 973-1033. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=108759277&site=ehost-live.
Grosch 3