#cowc

Black prisons are the result of racial biases and stereotypes. Blacks are overrepresented when compared to other races. “The current level of incarceration for Blacks is seven times greater than for whites, or more than four times higher than what we would expect using race-based offending differences based on self-report and victimization surveys.” (Punishment and Corrections: A Radical Interpretation, pg. 278)

The reasoning behind black prisons can be also brought to the attention of biases by law enforcement, lack of enforcement against the white race and the disadvantages of minorities. (Punishment and Corrections: A Radical Interpretation, pg. 277)

These factors are often overlooked. According to the author’s, “African Americans constitute only 12 percent of the general population, yet they make up 44 percent of prison and jail inmates.” (Punishment and Corrections: A Radical Interpretation, pg. 276)

There are three main arguments as to why there are generally more black people incarcerated. Some believe that Blacks have a tendency to commit more crimes, others believe that there are “differential rates of criminal offending by race” (Punishment and Corrections: A Radical Interpretation, pg. 280) and of course the racial inequalities. It is hard to comment on the black prisons because there is much information lacking in the sense of the severity of the crimes and connecting it to race, minorities are given unfair treatment by authorities, media plays a role in cultural biases and the fact that a lot of white collar offenders receive no documentation of their crimes, who, for the most part are of the white population.

This is not a new found injustice, throughout history Blacks have been at a disadvantage. The working conditions for Blacks became non-existent and the criminal justice system with their bias towards Blacks began to intensify. Crimes like drug use became a popular issue within society which began to segregate Blacks and negatively affect their daily lives. Throughout history the mistreatment and division of races is how the term Black Prison became a term of the present and future.

There are two branches of law: substantive and procedural law.

Substantive law which describes what the state frowns upon and deems as a criminal act and the punishment that will be incurred if caught. Procedural laws are the written down rules of these punishments/prosecution decisions.

Where substantive law is the actual action, procedural law is what makes that action legitimate. This ensures that equality is practiced and “ensures that all citizens receive fair and equal treatment when they encounter the power of the state in the form of police, courts or penal systems.” (A Radical Examination of Courts, pg. 241)

The problem with procedural law is that they may be written down and are supposed to be enforced, however what police and courts do is solely up to them so equal treatment is not guaranteed.

In sum, procedural laws are set in stone but substantive laws are only set in sand. They are subject to change based upon who you are, what you stand for and what you do. Substantive law does not show just actions towards all social classes and because they are of higher governmental authority they cannot be challenged.

Resources for poor defendants are often limited so when they choose their defense lawyer based upon their financial situation, it is not always promising as many get ineffective and overworked lawyers which causes their case to suffer.

It has been documented that in some wrongful conviction cases, bad lawyers have been found during the trials to:

*be sleeping

*be intoxicated

*be expelled after a death penalty case

*not investigate alibis or look for help with evidence issues

*not show up for hearings/meetings

Jimmy Ray Bromgard Case Example

A white male was convicted of a brutal rape of an 18 year old female when he was a teenager also. He spent 15 years in prison until DNA testing proved he was not the perpetrator. Bromgard is a perfect example of having bad lawyering; his lawyer proceeded with no investigation, prepared no statements/arguments, did not file for an appeal and it was evident he was not an expert in his position because he did not refute any accusations made towards Bromgard. There was no actual evidence against him but with a bad lawyer he spent a good portion of his life in prison.

About 15% of cases that have been exonerated through DNA testing is due to an informant testifying against defendant. These informants have been known to be given incentives (that are not made aware to the court) and persuading trickery statements to help convict an individual. Incentives given to witnesses include: money, in exchange of their release from prison or reduced sentence, or from guilt because they overheard a confession.

Research has proven that informants will falsely testify to the jury, especially if they wanted a reduced sentence or to be released. Some inmates are aware of this system and will voluntarily approach authorities to seek a deal

Larry Peterson Case Example

Larry Peterson, a black male, was convicted of sexual assault and murder - convicted to life. Peterson was convicted by the testimonies of 4 individuals - a jailhouse snitch and 3 of his co-workers. Through threats and long interrogations, the co-workers falsely confessed that Peterson had committed the crime. There was evidence that Peterson did not attend work that day which proves his co-workers testimony false, however,

Innocent defendants pleading guilty or making convicting statements make up about 25% of DNA cases exonerated; this says that confessions are not always made under the feeling of guilt but pressured by external influences. Here are a list of factors that can impact whether a defendant makes a false confession:

*threat/pressure

*Intoxication from drugs and/or alcohol

*mental impairment

*fear of violence and authorities

*inflicting harm

*misunderstanding of situation/questions being asked

*ignorance of law

The mental state of the defendant (confessor) is a main explanation as to why they falsely confess. Children are seen as easily manipulable therefore their confessions are invalid. People with mental disabilities often agree with individuals of authority and because these authority figures aren't necessarily given training on how to deal with a person with a disability exhaustion can set in from a lengthy interrogation and the false confession may be said to end it - not understanding what they just did. Regardless of mental capacity, authority figures will gain a confession through threats of physical harm and persuading through false statements.

Since confessions are not 100% accurate as seen from above; The Innocence Project has been working to have all interrogations (in America) video taped and recorded with audio to decrease the number of wrongful convictions.

Eddie Joe Lloyd Case Example

Eddie is a black man who was convicted of murdering a youth - he was convicted once he began writing to the police department with suggestions on how to solve crimes. Lloyd had a mental disability and law enforcement played to this weakness by convincing him that any information he had would help catch the real killer; however it was solely to convict him.