Tag: racial bias
The U.S. Supreme Court has sent the strongest signal yet that race should not be a factor in sentencing in a death row appeal from Texas. In February, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed condemned Texas murderer Duane Buck the right to request a new court hearing on his death sentence. In a 6-2 decision, the…
Allegations of racism in the criminal justice system are nothing new but a high profile case in Texas has led to soul searching at a national level over allegations that a man was sentenced to death because he is black. In April, the U.S. Supreme Court conferenced a decision on whether it will again address…
A damning report into the way crime is handled in Ferguson, MO., has confirmed that not all local criminal justice systems are equal and some are riddled with bad practices. This month the Justice Department called on Ferguson, Mo., to “overhaul its criminal justice system, declaring that the city had engaged in so many constitutional…
In 2012, there was an angry demonstration in Dallas, Texas when police shot and killed James Harper. Harper, an African American, was shot dead at drug house in the 5300 block of Bourquin Street while, according to Dallas Police Chief David Brown, police were responding to a kidnapping call. These kinds of scenes have dominated…
A summer of civil disturbance in Ferguson, Missouri, after the fatal shooting of a black teenager by a white police officer, appears to have had an effect on how the public view the criminal justice system. A recent survey by the Public Religion Research Institute found Americans of all backgrounds are more likely to see…