Author of Chokehold: Policing Black Men, Paul Butler is a former federal prosecutor, a current law professor at Georgetown University Law Center, and author. He works mostly in the field of race and jury nullification and is a leading scholar in those areas. Born in Chicago on January 15, 1961, Butler knew from a young age he wanted to work in the criminal law field. He graduated from both Yale and Harvard University. He has won the Harry Chapin Media Award, and his writing has been published in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Boston Globe. Butler has appeared on MSNBC and CNN to speak on race issues. With his experience, Butler wrote the volatile book, Chokehold. He explains how the system is working actively to criminalize black
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The book details how police, politicians, and judges are working actively to keep the narrative that “all black men are thugs.” Policemen are brutal with black men all the time, and their crimes are kept a secret with the help of laws and with the way the justice system in constructed, a majority are never convicted. Butler provides a plan to help African-American men if they are ever wrongfully accused of a crime, or manhandled by police. His viewpoint of race factor and police brutality provides an all-new look into the “chokehold” on black men across the …show more content…
Police departments hiring more women officers would help the violence problem. Men make up more than 80 percent of violent crimes in America, so women would be less prone to being aggressive. Male police officers have a mindset that they are “warriors”, and the police force needs who are there to protect, not scare. Butler states if the cops are better educated, then less brutality will ensue. “A frequently cited study found other advantages to a college education, including that more educated cops exhibit better acceptance of minorities and are less likely to be involved in unethical behaviors” (Butler 236). The Wonderlic Cognitive Test is a popular test used in the police academy, the highest an applicant can score is a 50, most accepted score between 20 and 27. Meaning applicants can be turned down for being “too smart.” Butler’s most controversial idea to put an end to the “chokehold” on black men, is abolishing all prisons. He thinks that prison is violent, dehumanizing, and made to lock up African-American men for excessive amounts of time. And people who do break the law can be subject to different punishments, like intense treatment.
Chokehold offers great insight on the ways police officers in America are more violent with black men, and recommendations of change to the justice system. Butler provides an incredible amount of information on race, and how it can affect a person’s
The book details how police, politicians, and judges are working actively to keep the narrative that “all black men are thugs.” Policemen are brutal with black men all the time, and their crimes are kept a secret with the help of laws and with the way the justice system in constructed, a majority are never convicted. Butler provides a plan to help African-American men if they are ever wrongfully accused of a crime, or manhandled by police. His viewpoint of race factor and police brutality provides an all-new look into the “chokehold” on black men across the …show more content…
Police departments hiring more women officers would help the violence problem. Men make up more than 80 percent of violent crimes in America, so women would be less prone to being aggressive. Male police officers have a mindset that they are “warriors”, and the police force needs who are there to protect, not scare. Butler states if the cops are better educated, then less brutality will ensue. “A frequently cited study found other advantages to a college education, including that more educated cops exhibit better acceptance of minorities and are less likely to be involved in unethical behaviors” (Butler 236). The Wonderlic Cognitive Test is a popular test used in the police academy, the highest an applicant can score is a 50, most accepted score between 20 and 27. Meaning applicants can be turned down for being “too smart.” Butler’s most controversial idea to put an end to the “chokehold” on black men, is abolishing all prisons. He thinks that prison is violent, dehumanizing, and made to lock up African-American men for excessive amounts of time. And people who do break the law can be subject to different punishments, like intense treatment.
Chokehold offers great insight on the ways police officers in America are more violent with black men, and recommendations of change to the justice system. Butler provides an incredible amount of information on race, and how it can affect a person’s