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Homework answers / question archive / When I think of the word justice, the word balance also comes to mind
When I think of the word justice, the word balance also comes to mind. This may be due to the fact that I picture the Lady of Justice statue when hearing the word justice. The statue depicts a blindfolded woman holding a balance in one hand and double-edged sword in the other. Her blindfold represents the absence of prejudice and corruption, her balance represents the value in weighing and considering all evidence, and her double-edged sword represents the ability of justice to rule against either a defendant or plaintiff once evidence has been presented (Heather & Little 2020). In a perfect world, justice serves, protects, and punishes in all the right places. However, this world is very much so imperfect. The things that the Lady of Justice statue represents are what justice is supposed to be, but in today’s criminal justice system, the true meaning of the word justice has been blurred.
Social justice is something that worldwide, still needs a lot of work... The fact that we have yet to reach true social justice bubbles over and contributes to the flaws we have in our criminal justice system. Our criminal justice flaws in the U.S. start with our police force. Quota-based policing; demographic profiling; and racial profiling is where a lot of criminal injustice originates. Innocent people are profiled and arrested every day in unjust situations. Injustice then follows its victims through the court systems and into the vast American jail system. According to a press release from 2020, “The American criminal justice system holds almost 2.3 million people in 1,833 state prisons, 110 federal prisons, 1,772 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,134 local jails, 218 immigration detention facilities, and 80 Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in the U.S. territories.” (Sawyer & Wagner 2020). Of the 2.3 million people incarcerated, it is estimated that between 1% and 5% are actually innocent; that gives us a low-end estimate of more than 20,000 people, and at the higher end, over 100,000 (Haavik 2021). People are being locked away for “crimes” that are hardly punishable, pleading guilty to crimes they didn’t commit to avoid the possibility of more harsh convictions if they lose a “not guilty” plea, are receiving unfair sentences, and are having their reputations ruined for life.
The prison system in the U.S. is indeed, in need of a serious reform. While there is a need for the incarceration of truly dangerous criminals and consequences for breaking the law, there is also a need for systems to be put in place to help lower the rate of recidivism. As reported by the World Population Review, “The United States has some of the highest recidivism rates in the world. According to the National Institute of Justice, almost 44% of criminals released return before the first year out of prison. In 2005, about 68% of 405,000 released prisoners were arrested for a new crime within three years, and 77% were arrested within five years.” (World Population Review 2021). Improving substance abuse treatments (alternative and/or integrated) and providing education during incarceration would be great places to start in the effort of reducing recidivism.
Discussion Reply
Hello,
I agree with you that justice goes hand in hand with balance. That is not only about the statue, but justice should not come with corruption or prejudice in real life. The balance of the lady of justice represents the deep consideration of the evidence provided at the law institutions (Takács, 2019). Such evidence is considered effectively to solve cases in a justice manner. I concur with you that the double-edged sword that the lady of justice holds represents the ability to rule against the defendant or plaintiff after presenting the evidence of support.
I agree with you that the world needs a lot to have social justice. Indeed, the universe has not reached true justice as defined by the law courts, contributing to our law courts' flaws. That flaw usually starts with the police. Innocent people are still being profiled and accused of fake situations. The country has jailed many innocent people where they are suffering in prison. Among the 2.3 million people in the United States jails, it is estimated that 1% to 5% are innocent people. That shows how the level of injustice has affected the level of innocent people. It has also ruined the reputation of many people, even others getting life sentence judgment after failing to plead guilty.
I concur with you that the United States prison system needs reforms. In that case, the government requires incarcerating people who break laws. They also need to review the court system to reduce the recidivism rate. From the world review, the United States is the highest recidivism. Even though it controls the rate of criminal activities by jailing those who break the law, they also do injustice to some citizens. That is not good because they are supposed to be guiding their citizens and not mistreating them.
