The Reimaging of Criminal Justice Education: A Preliminary Study of Students’ Classroom Experiences and Perceptions of Racial Justice

Author(s):  
Chien-Juh Gu ◽  
Charles Crawford
Author(s):  
Andrew Valls

The criminal justice system in the United States both reflects racial inequality in the broader society and contributes to it. The overrepresentation of African Americans among those in prison is a result of both the conditions in poor black neighborhoods and racial bias in the criminal justice system. The American system of criminal justice today is excessively punitive, when compared to previous periods and to other countries, and its harsh treatment disproportionately harms African Americans. In addition, those released from prison face a number of obstacles to housing, employment, and other prerequisites of decent life, and the concentration of prisoners and ex-prisoners in black communities does much to perpetuate racial inequality.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 269-271
Author(s):  
Melba V. Pearson

In the wake of the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial, many people are posing the question as to what is next for racial and social justice. As the power of the prosecutor has been on display in recent months, what can be done to make sure that accountability is spread evenly among all races in the criminal justice system? For decades, the metric of a prosecutor’s success revolved around conviction rates. As thinking has evolved around the country, success now includes areas such as community safety, health, and wellness – which requires a new way to measure the work being done. Data provides this information. Data will play a critical role in ensuring transparency, changing policy, and making sure that justice is dispensed equally. Data creates a common language, as well as evidence regarding what is working effectively, and what is not. We cannot fix what we do not measure.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Douglas A. Berman

The remarkable events of 2020 have disrupted and altered all sorts of plans, and this issue of FSR covers some of the many varied criminal justice and sentencing echoes of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and urgent new calls for racial justice. The intense and dynamic topics that have come to define 2020 in the United States necessarily impact, and may even consume our thinking, about modern criminal justice systems generally and federal sentencing realities in particular. Included in this FSR issue are reports and data and commentary that predate spring shutdowns and summer protests and related developments; but these materials now carry distinctive meaning and even a new urgency in light of 2020 challenges. It is impossible to fully assess in short order the impact of massive societal changes on the federal sentencing system, but we are hopeful this FSR issue can provided added perspective to a rapidly changing world that still often seems hard to fully grasp.


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