Monday, November 5, 2007
Self Analysis
As an American I viewed our justice system with the idea that everyman is equal in front of the courts eye. Yet as I have studied more about the affect of economic status in capital punihsment cases, and other type of court cases I was amazed about the injustices in the system. Through studying the topic I have learned a great deal about my own ideas on the topic, and what is trying to be done to stop the injustice Innocence Protection Act. As I have studied this topic I have been amazed aout the injustices in the system. The prejudices that we as a society and the justice system show towards poor people around the US is incredible. I do realize that part of these views are based on race but some of them are definately not. I find that we as a society judge people based on how much money they have basing the value of a person on their wealth which is terrible. Through studying I found that it was mainly the poor people who were at a disadvantage because they could not afford a lawyer. Even though the state is supposed to provide lawyers for defendants that cannot afford them, but the state pays such low wages that no lawyer would ever take the case. All of these injustices made me question the trust I had in the judicial system and look to see what was being done in the courtroom to solve these problems and maintain the idea of justice for all. As I researched the topic more; I have now learned that some legislation has been done to help provide quality lawyers for poor people. I have also found lawyers who have setup probono cases to help in poor states like alabama and others. There is also legislation being done to provide better investigative techniques available to poor people like DNA testing. DNA testing being available for poor people would help in cases like that presented in Sister Helen Prejean book The Death of Innocence and in the West Memphis Three case. Yet this problem has not been completely resolved and the question maybe raised how does econmic status affect the court's opinion in other cases such as rape? Or other crimes like drug dealers and car theft?
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3 comments:
I find it interesting that you concluding your self analysis post by questioning how economics affects cases other than the death penalty. Your questioning influenced me to question as well, and therefore search the topic instead doing class work. I commend you on a job well done, for it your blog generates such a reaction in me, it must be effective in getting others to think about your topic and educate themselves.
The thing that's really interesting to me about your topic is that this is issue doesn't seem to be a new topic. There have been attempts to take economic status out of the equation in other branches of the government, but no the judicial system. There are no longer any land or money requirements to vote or hold office, but yet it is still such an influential aspect in a person receiving a fair trial when the issue is life and death. I've really enjoyed reading all your blogs because you not only bring up points that causes further thinking, but you also sound very passionate in what you're writing and that made me care more about the issue myself.
Hi... I think your all your posts have helped shed light on this grave issue - of how economic status affects one's chances of winning a trial. Thanks for that. Since you have identified the problem, to strengthen your posts, you might want to explore how we can take some practical action to help. Since you've mentioned that the problem still exists, what is it that continues to hinder a change? I'm thinking of more public awareness, proposals to state leaders and such. Just a suggestion. Oh, and you might want to read through you post to just tie up the grammar and sentence structure. But great job so far! Cheers..
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