On a similar note, I do not believe that the state should be allowed to prevent employers from knowing the criminal history of an applicant. That allows people to conceal information that, as stated above, in certain circumstances could be pertinent to the job and the hiring decision. The real problem that I have is what they are capable of doing with the knowledge of criminal history. Nobody can assume that people will do the right thing when the time comes, and, especially with employment, there is a clear discrimination occurring against people who have wronged in the past. Very few bosses are willing to overlook the pasts of the possible hires and that will cause an unnecessary hierarchy among applicants. As shown in the chart above,
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The number of African Americans and Latinos who are imprisoned is much larger than that of white people (as shown in chart below), even though they make up less than a third of the population in the United States. This further raises the issue of unequal employment and recidivism. The matter of why there is such a large number of African American and Latino people in prison is a whole different issue consisting of “unequal treatment of minorities in our criminal justice system”. However, the problem with racial discrimination presented in this case refers to the issue of unequal employment among ex-criminals. This is displayed in the chart seen below that was created through a study about race and criminal records done by Devrah Pager. This chart displays that white men with criminal records are 50% less likely to be called for an interview for a job and black men with a criminal record are 64.3% less likely to be called for an interview. This isn’t even about being hired, this is really just about making it through the initial screening process and the statistics suggest that not only does criminal record drastically affect equal footing during the hiring process, but minorities are further disadvantaged during the process, leaving far too many unemployed …show more content…
It is important because it raises questions about how criminals are treated in this society. At the end of the day, we are all humans and some of us end up in better situations than others, but we all have the power to affect other people’s lives. It raises the question of trust between inferiors and superiors and who has the right to know about someone’s past and previous issues. What does it really mean to live through years in prison? If prisons are anything like the fake one in “The Stanford Prison Experiment”, then it would seem like someone with a minor offense like drug-dealing definitely served their time. This case emphasizes the fact that there is a really blurred line between victim and offender because sometimes the offender becomes a victim and the people that we trust to ensure there are fewer offenses, sometimes end up committing offenses themselves. What the criminal justice system does is surely not perfect: prison guards are sometimes quite cruel and criminals are judged for the rest of their lives for something they likely did when they were young and careless. This case displays a part of humanity that many of us would rather
The number of African Americans and Latinos who are imprisoned is much larger than that of white people (as shown in chart below), even though they make up less than a third of the population in the United States. This further raises the issue of unequal employment and recidivism. The matter of why there is such a large number of African American and Latino people in prison is a whole different issue consisting of “unequal treatment of minorities in our criminal justice system”. However, the problem with racial discrimination presented in this case refers to the issue of unequal employment among ex-criminals. This is displayed in the chart seen below that was created through a study about race and criminal records done by Devrah Pager. This chart displays that white men with criminal records are 50% less likely to be called for an interview for a job and black men with a criminal record are 64.3% less likely to be called for an interview. This isn’t even about being hired, this is really just about making it through the initial screening process and the statistics suggest that not only does criminal record drastically affect equal footing during the hiring process, but minorities are further disadvantaged during the process, leaving far too many unemployed …show more content…
It is important because it raises questions about how criminals are treated in this society. At the end of the day, we are all humans and some of us end up in better situations than others, but we all have the power to affect other people’s lives. It raises the question of trust between inferiors and superiors and who has the right to know about someone’s past and previous issues. What does it really mean to live through years in prison? If prisons are anything like the fake one in “The Stanford Prison Experiment”, then it would seem like someone with a minor offense like drug-dealing definitely served their time. This case emphasizes the fact that there is a really blurred line between victim and offender because sometimes the offender becomes a victim and the people that we trust to ensure there are fewer offenses, sometimes end up committing offenses themselves. What the criminal justice system does is surely not perfect: prison guards are sometimes quite cruel and criminals are judged for the rest of their lives for something they likely did when they were young and careless. This case displays a part of humanity that many of us would rather