Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Racial Prejudice in the Courts Strikes Again

     In the article, Racist Arrests in Tulia, Texas by the American Civil Liberties Union, racially motivated arrests are shown to be an issue that still occur in the United States. One such case occurred in Texas where 10 percent of the African American population was arrested on drug charges based off of the testimony of one undercover officer. Thirty-nine of the forty-six people arrested were black and in April, a Dallas judge threw out all 38 drug convictions because they were based off of the questionable testimony given by the single officer that was accused of racial prejudice.
     Although the issue of racism is not as extreme as it used to be, racial prejudice is something that still goes on in today's society and it needs to be addressed. Often times racial profiling occurs in the workplace, in the classroom, and in the court systems. We see cases where, although sufficient evidence is not given, people are charged with crimes they did not commit because of their race, ethnicity, or fit to a certain profile. Not only is this unfair to the people who are falsely accused, but it also adds to the issue of racism in all of society.