When explaining the disproportionate over-representation and the incarceration of Aboriginal peoples in the criminal justice system, there are several theories and factors to consider. For several decades, the Criminal Justice System has mistreated Aboriginal peoples in numerous ways, subjecting them to racial profiling, unethical racialization and erroneous incineration. In order to help prevent such things from continuing, understanding is key.
Thorsten Sellin’s culture conflict theory sheds light on this unreasonable over-representation and incarceration of Aboriginal peoples. Sellin’s theory states that crime is a result of disagreement between cultures that have different values or opinions about what is deemed acceptable. This theory …show more content…
Helen Osborne, an Aboriginal woman from The Pas Manitoba, was brutally raped and murdered in 1971. When investigating Osborne’s murder, police were informed about suspicious activities of four while men that may have been linked to Osborne’s murder. Fully knowing this information, police still chose to consider Osborne’s Aboriginal friends as suspects and continued to investigate them. In this case, police- ironically most of which were white, chose to follow empty leads based upon their racist view on Aboriginal peoples, causing the case to carry on for sixteen years. After the sixteen years, Osborne’s case was brought to justice and charges were placed. Nonetheless, the Manitoba Justice System was reviewed thoroughly due to its lack of proper investigation caused by this prejudice. Despite this, assumptions were made about Osborne by Justices A.C Hamilton and C.M Sinclair (1991: …show more content…
case. At the age of seventeen, an Aboriginal man by the name of Marshall was wrongfully convicted for the murder of his friend, Sandy Seale. The officers investigating the case refused any out side help, even though they had little experience with homicide cases, did not secure the crime scene or evidence properly, nor did they preform an autopsy. When police obtained a statement from Marshall, he told them the truth; that the men made racist comments then stabbed Seale, cutting Marshalls arm in the process. Police questioned three bystanders that were at the crime scene and they all said they Marshall killed Seale. However, with no solid evidence, police decided that Marshall had killed Seale and inflicted wounds on himself as a cover. Though a confession came out after Marshall’s arrest, police ignored it saying that the case was closed. The Criminal Justice System had failed Marshall, family and community. Was it because he was Aboriginal? The commission seemed to think so, they stated that because of Marshall’s ethnicity, he was wrongfully incarcerated and
Thorsten Sellin’s culture conflict theory sheds light on this unreasonable over-representation and incarceration of Aboriginal peoples. Sellin’s theory states that crime is a result of disagreement between cultures that have different values or opinions about what is deemed acceptable. This theory …show more content…
Helen Osborne, an Aboriginal woman from The Pas Manitoba, was brutally raped and murdered in 1971. When investigating Osborne’s murder, police were informed about suspicious activities of four while men that may have been linked to Osborne’s murder. Fully knowing this information, police still chose to consider Osborne’s Aboriginal friends as suspects and continued to investigate them. In this case, police- ironically most of which were white, chose to follow empty leads based upon their racist view on Aboriginal peoples, causing the case to carry on for sixteen years. After the sixteen years, Osborne’s case was brought to justice and charges were placed. Nonetheless, the Manitoba Justice System was reviewed thoroughly due to its lack of proper investigation caused by this prejudice. Despite this, assumptions were made about Osborne by Justices A.C Hamilton and C.M Sinclair (1991: …show more content…
case. At the age of seventeen, an Aboriginal man by the name of Marshall was wrongfully convicted for the murder of his friend, Sandy Seale. The officers investigating the case refused any out side help, even though they had little experience with homicide cases, did not secure the crime scene or evidence properly, nor did they preform an autopsy. When police obtained a statement from Marshall, he told them the truth; that the men made racist comments then stabbed Seale, cutting Marshalls arm in the process. Police questioned three bystanders that were at the crime scene and they all said they Marshall killed Seale. However, with no solid evidence, police decided that Marshall had killed Seale and inflicted wounds on himself as a cover. Though a confession came out after Marshall’s arrest, police ignored it saying that the case was closed. The Criminal Justice System had failed Marshall, family and community. Was it because he was Aboriginal? The commission seemed to think so, they stated that because of Marshall’s ethnicity, he was wrongfully incarcerated and