African Americans, Racial Discrimination and America’s Legal System
The lack of trust by African Americans for the executive and judicial systems stem from racial discrimination and stereotypes within those systems toward African Americans. Injustices within the executive and judicial systems against African Americans can be found in the murder and assault of unarmed black teens Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Aiyana Jones and many others. A specific case of injustice and racial discrimination within the executive and judicial system is in the murder of seven year old Aiyana Jones in 2010. Aiyana was shot and murdered by Officer Joseph Weekley. Before, officers began to raid Aiyana’s home, they were warned there was a child in the home by Aiyana’s older cousin, Mark Robinson. As police officers held him onto the ground, their feet pressed to his …show more content…
In 2012, Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old unarmed black teen walking home from a 7-Eleven was murdered by George Zimmerman, after an altercation that a 911 operator told Zimmerman to avoid. After “nationwide protests and a reexamination of the evidence,” Zimmerman was arrested 45 days after murdering Trayvon, and on his sentencing day in court was found not guilty of murdering Trayvon (Brown, 260). Instead it was deemed self-defense, with one juror stating she believed Zimmerman’s” heart was in the right place” when he murdered Trayvon. (Brown, 260). Owen Brown, the author of “The Legal Murder of Trayvon Martin and New York City Stop-and-Frisk Law: America 's War Against Black Males Rages On” argues that the executive and judicial systems are dominated by the assumptions that race and crime are intertwined. While, in fact, there is no valid or “sound proof” information linking a certain race to crime, these systems allow preconceived notions of a race guide them in their arrest and sentencing (Brown,
The lack of trust by African Americans for the executive and judicial systems stem from racial discrimination and stereotypes within those systems toward African Americans. Injustices within the executive and judicial systems against African Americans can be found in the murder and assault of unarmed black teens Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Aiyana Jones and many others. A specific case of injustice and racial discrimination within the executive and judicial system is in the murder of seven year old Aiyana Jones in 2010. Aiyana was shot and murdered by Officer Joseph Weekley. Before, officers began to raid Aiyana’s home, they were warned there was a child in the home by Aiyana’s older cousin, Mark Robinson. As police officers held him onto the ground, their feet pressed to his …show more content…
In 2012, Trayvon Martin, a 17 year old unarmed black teen walking home from a 7-Eleven was murdered by George Zimmerman, after an altercation that a 911 operator told Zimmerman to avoid. After “nationwide protests and a reexamination of the evidence,” Zimmerman was arrested 45 days after murdering Trayvon, and on his sentencing day in court was found not guilty of murdering Trayvon (Brown, 260). Instead it was deemed self-defense, with one juror stating she believed Zimmerman’s” heart was in the right place” when he murdered Trayvon. (Brown, 260). Owen Brown, the author of “The Legal Murder of Trayvon Martin and New York City Stop-and-Frisk Law: America 's War Against Black Males Rages On” argues that the executive and judicial systems are dominated by the assumptions that race and crime are intertwined. While, in fact, there is no valid or “sound proof” information linking a certain race to crime, these systems allow preconceived notions of a race guide them in their arrest and sentencing (Brown,