Biases in the Judicial System

When looking at how advanced our society is, it’s amazing that we still struggle with so my civil rights
issues. From discrimination based on race and/or gender to capital punishment, our society is flawed
and struggles with many ethical dilemmas. One avidly talked about civil rights issue is that of race
biases during trials and prison sentences. Approximately half of the United States prison population
consists of African Americans and Hispanics. This is a huge amount considering the fact that these
races only constitute for about 32% of the population in the United States. This had led many people
to question the ethics of the judicial system as a whole. Some psychologists blame this on
“unconscious biases” which they claim we all possess to some degree. These biases can come from
social stigmas or unfamiliarity and seem to lead to harsher sentences for those of different races.
While this has been an issue for a long time, it is now being publicly addressed and is hopefully
working towards abolishing racial biases. As more people become aware of this problem, more care
is taken during trials and progress is being made.

Bibliography:
Bennett, Mark W. “The Implicit Racial Bias in Sentencing: The Next Frontier.” The Yale Law Journal - Home, www.yalelawjournal.org/
forum/the-implicit-racial-bias-in-sentencing.

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