Systemic Racism In The Donald Marshall Case

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In 1971, Donald Marshall Jr. was convicted of a murder that he did not commit. Donald Marshall was forced to spend ten years in jail until evidence finally cleared his name. After reading the Royal Commission on the Donald Marshall, Jr., written by Gregory Evans and Elusive Justice, Beyond the Marshall Inquiry written by Alex Denny et al, I am now familiar with the Donald Marshall case. The Royal Commission investigated the Donald Marshall case in-depth to find out how he was wrongfully convicted, by doing so they discovered systemic racism majorly contributed to his conviction. The Royal Commissioners then discovered what developed out of the events and numerous recommendations for further reference. A Royal Commission is “a body …show more content…
Systemic racism “includes the policies and practices entrenched in established institutions, which result in the exclusion or promotion of designated groups. It differs from overt discrimination in that no individual intent is necessary” (Henry & Tator, 2006, p. 352). Systemic racism occurs when a society is structured in a way in which some are advantaged while others are disadvantaged. There is two different ways to describe systemic racism referred to as institutional racism and structural racism. Institutional racism is “racial discrimination that derives from individuals carrying out the dictates of others who are prejudiced or of a prejudiced society” (Henry & Tator, 2006, p. 352). Structural racism is “inequalities rooted in the system-wide operation of a society that excludes substantial numbers of members of particular groups from significant participation in major social institutions” (Henry & Tator, 2006, p. 352). The type of systemic racism most clearly represented within Donald Marshall’s case would be structural racism because the entire criminal justice system is involved. . Before this case occurred Nova Scotia already had a poor system of people who treated Blacks and Natives differently therefore this relates to the definition of systemic racism. The Aboriginals in Nova Scotia had already been arguing for years about the unfair treatment from the Canadian Criminal justice system and how they are in fact racist. In relation to Donald Marshall’s case, he was a Native American therefore; this case was mainly focused on the issue of racism as opposed to wrongful conviction. This case was described as an innocent human convicted of homicide, accept he was Indian, the man killed was African-American and the guilty male was Caucasian. The Indian male was punished for life and the Caucasian male was only punished for one year. The Royal Commission isolated racism

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