The Criminal Justice system in America absolutely needs reform. Let’s step back a bit and explain why.

Specifically, in the jury in trial cases, there is an immense amount of bias that each and every jury member walks in with. For example, Johnny Craft was convicted in 21 minutes by an all-white jury. This bias of any of the jury members can change the life of a person forever.

As a participant of Mock Trial, I have learned a lot more about how the criminal justice system works, and from this, it is clear changes can be made to make it fairer.

It is clear that the American justice system is not fair to all American citizens and should be changed so that it can be equal for everyone.

Let’s talk about a man by the name of Botham Jean. Botham Jean was a 26-year-old African American man and accountant for PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers). He lived on the fourth floor in an apartment building. On September 6, 2018, an off-duty officer by the name of Amber

Guyger entered Jean’s apartment, which she claimed she thought was her own, and shot Jean. She explained that she believed he was an intruder. Jean was killed by an off-duty police officer in his own apartment. But what does this have to do with the judicial system? Learn more about Botham Jean here: ABC News.

The problem with Jean’s case is that Guyger was not arrested for several days after this shooting and was only charged with manslaughter. Manslaughter means, “the crime of killing a human being without malice aforethought, or otherwise in circumstances not amounting to murder.” Even though the shooting was claimed to be an accident, an innocent man was killed. The prosecution also argued that Guyger actually did have a motive. Eventually, Guyger was convicted of murder.

The key to understanding what went wrong in the justice system is understanding what happened before this sentencing. When Guyger was initially charged with manslaughter, it was not until two months of anger and protests that the charge was brought up to murder. We must ask what would have happened without the protests. Would Guyger be in jail for only 2-6 years (the average sentencing for manslaughter)?

Now let’s move on to a more popular and more recent case. The trial of Derrick Chauvin. This trial is important in looking at Criminal Justice system reform for a number of reasons. The first reason is looking at the jury. The jury in this trial was made up of 12 men and women. The important part is what the jury had to agree on. Chauvin was on trial for three accounts second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. In our justice system, it is required for all jury members to agree with each verdict in a criminal trial to convict the defendant. This means that for Chauvin to be in jail, each and every jury member would have to agree that he is guilty of second-degree murder, and or third-degree murder, and or second-degree manslaughter. This is a problem because if one jury member has any bias, then the whole case can come to an end. Is this truly a fair system?

Of course, there are still good things about the system. Just this week we all experienced true justice in the system when Derrick Chauvin was convicted. Another example, is the fact that attorneys are constantly gaining more power to choose the jury members that they want to have. There is also a jury selection process where attorneys are able to ask a number of questions to the jury to see any possible bias. The big flaw is that humans lie, and humans are biased no matter what.

Finally, let’s talk about the data and the facts. According to the Constitution Daily, 95 percent of all prosecutors are white. The problem is that attorneys chose who they want on their jury, and if 95 percent are white, then not all, but some of their decisions can be racially motivated. Another fact from the Constitution Daily is that 57 percent of blacks and 36 percent of Hispanics are strikes from the jury. This means that during the jury selection process, white jurors are more likely to be picked than minority ones which again could cause racial bias. The problem is not only with white people, however, but it is also with black jurors. Minorities can also be biased as well, and that is the ultimate problem with the system.

In the words of James Baldwin, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” To change the Justice System, we must first face it head-on. There are undoubtedly problems in the American Criminal Justice system that we must address them and reform. I myself want to grow up and personally challenge the Supreme Court and reform the Criminal Justice System. The question is, when will you help to make a change before someone you know is affected by this problem?