The Effects of Race on Wrongful Convictions and White Privilege in US Society

The Effects of Race on Wrongful Convictions

Black suspects are rarely given the benefit of the doubt by juries or judges, and they are often assumed to be criminals or have criminal tendencies. This is seen in the disparity in sentences between a black and a white man who committed the same crime. The black men usually get the maximum possible sentence while the white guys get a minor sentencing. The data shows that black men can be up to 22 times more likely to receive the death than a white man, regardless of culpability. Also, in cases where eyewitness testimony is required, black people are at a disadvantage if the witness is white because biologically we pay less attention to faces of other races.

Murder on a Sunday Morning

The thing that disturbed me the most is how the detectives made up a whole story of the statement and deny all. It is really sad how law enforcement lies in order to convict an innocent person since they are the ones that supposed to help people.

The Issues:

• Unreliability of eyewitness accounts (identified a wrong person, is incredible the amount of people that are sent to prison to death penalty for eyewitness).
• False confession.
• Race and wrongful convictions.

Linking the Aforementioned Documentary to Ritzer's Article

The Rizer article shows that in 40% of the cases it retroactively exonerated, the evidence was tampered with before the trials. Like we see in the documentary, if the law enforcement officers or the prosecutor is a prejudiced racist, that may show in the way the suspect is treated or judged. Also, the institutions and government protect these people who make up evidence or tamper with it, so they feel emboldened to carry on with the tampering without thinking there would be repercussions.

What is Meant by the Idea that Whiteness Continues to Represent 'The Norm' in US Society?

The US is still a predominantly white country, although recent population trends point to a shift in balance, as thus society has been geared towards white people. White culture dominates the landscape and this is reflected in movies, stars, and even trivial things like the color of Band-Aids. Whiteness is also perceived as more honest and trustworthy and the image of a quintessential American is a white middle-aged man.

What is White Privilege?

White privilege is the societal privilege that benefits people whom society identifies as white in some countries, beyond what is commonly experienced by non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances.

Examples of White Privilege as They Relate to Crime

White collar criminals are usually white and older, and they for the most part get a free pass on their crimes. Their sentences tend to be light and they have access to the best lawyers available, meanwhile, suspects of colors have it hard finding an attorney that will be able to represent them to the best of his abilities. Also, in the court of public opinion, white suspects are usually given the benefit of the doubt, a luxury that is not afforded to black people, regardless of fame level.

Examples of White Privilege as They Relate to Other Social Areas Outside of Crime

White privilege is very much present in the job market, employers usually skew towards 'white' sounding names over ethnic ones. Also, white privilege is seen in interactions with store employees; white patrons are usually left alone and allowed to browse, while black ones are often followed or wrongly accused of stealing. Also, black people are usually shunned from services such as Uber and AirBnB, with drivers or hosts discriminating against them for being black, something that never, or rarely ever, happens to white people.