Justice may be blind, but the legal system sees colors
Written by Michael Vass
I was recently talking to a friend and they mentioned how things are so much better for African Americans these days. They believed that the legal system is fairer now than ever before. I laughed.
There is no question that African Americans have long felt that the legal system in America is a failure when it comes to any person of color. We have long complained of higher conviction rates, less access to bails, and harsher penalties once convicted. That says nothing of the stigma attached to those paroled, falsely accused, or who win the judicial action.
There is the examples from the past of numerous lynchings, the eradication of Rosewood, and Jim Crow laws including segregation as recent as the mid- to late-70’s. But on more recent notes there are the examples of Rodney King, Sean Bell, OJ Simpson, Genarlow Wilson, and the Jena 6. To that recent list can be added Allen Snyder.
Who is Allen Snyder? A black man who was convicted in Louisiana for the murder of a man and the stabbing of his wife. Sounds similar to another case? Well this trial was initially in 1996 and the prosecutor removed all African Americans from the jury, and then made correlations to the OJ Simpson case. The all-White jury agreed on guilt and the death sentence.
Now the Supreme Court is looking over the case. Of course this is after the fact that back in 1986 and 2005 the issue of racial bias in juries was addressed.
My point?
Simple. There is more than just an imbalance in the legal system. It’s an absolute fact that it’s prejudiced. But the media plays short shrift to this, and the general White populace believes that everything is fair. At least that’s how I have experienced it.
There is no way possible that the current system will improve when, even in the face of criticism by the highest courts, the average populace thinks that the system is fair or needs to be harsher. There is no chance of repair while the media focuses thoughts towards the impression that Blacks are responsible for the majority of violent crimes, are the majority receiving social entitlements, and generally in the worst class of society.
Those are the facts, but the media has spent how much time following every aspect of the recent OJ case? How much time was dedicated to Bobby Cutts? And in each case how often did major news commentators all but declare these men guilty from the first day?
The legal system is not fair. It never has been. It is racist and predjudiced. But there are many Americans that don’t realize this. A friend and colleague of mine once stated to me
“I had no idea of the things that happened to you were possible in America. It would never come into my mind. It would never happen to me, or anyone I know. I’m shocked.”
So once again we will hear about how bad things are. And the media will maybe provide a minute of coverage, unless they are too busy dedicating a day of coverage to OJ sneezing, or Ellen DeGeneres losing another pet and crying on television about it. You know covering the important issues.
Because the legal system is fairer now, more than any other time in history.
