NCJ Number
143668
Journal
Social Justice Volume: 20 Issue: 1-2 Dated: (Spring-Summer 1993) Pages: 140-149
Date Published
1993
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Based on his own experiences and observations, the author argues that class, race, and gender discrimination pervade the U.S. political and criminal justice systems, denying justice and progress to minorities.
Abstract
The author concludes that sexism, albeit masked by another issue, was operating in the rejection of Zoe Baird and Kimba Wood for Attorney General of the United States, thus illustrating that sex discrimination operates against the wealthy class. The author then turns to the case of a poor, black woman in Erie County, Pa., who was convicted of a third offense for shoplifting that involved less than $32.00 worth of items. Because it was her third conviction, a recidivist provision in the State's retail-theft statute permitted upgrading the offense to a third-degree felony, which permitted incarceration for 7 years. The appellate court upheld the sentence, because "the legislature has determined that recidivist retail theft offenders should be sentenced harshly." The author was the only dissenting judge on the appeals court. Other cases mentioned involved a prosecutor's unchallenged blatant appeals to racial and class bigotry in portraying a defendant, the transfer of cases involving black defendants or victims to jurisdictions that will yield a predominantly white jury, favoritism toward high-status defendants, and probation revocation for a woman who wrote a worthless check to buy sheets for her children. The author concludes that the cases cited reflect a general societal attitude that is more punitive toward the lower class, racial minorities, and women. 13 notes