Criminal Justice Project
Snemalna Knjiga Besedilo
- Let me think. I'll tell you about what life was like back in the early 2000s, many years ago!
- Grandpa, tell me a story! Please!
- One day, in 2022, I embarked on a journey to go grocery shopping. I lived in a safe neighborhood, and I had never before committed a crime.
- I got in my car and drove carefully and safely, adhering to all traffic laws.
- All of a sudden, I noticed a police car trailing me. I began to get worried, and I started to overthink all that I was doing. I knew, sadly, that this happens sometimes, so I tried to remain calm and remember everything that I had learned.
- The police car pulled me over. I abided by the law and pulled over. I followed all of the rules, kept my hands in sight and rolled down my window.
- Sure, let me reach to get them.
- Can I see your license and registration please?
- Even though I told him exactly what I was about to do, he still suspected the worst. All because of the color of my skin!
- That's it. Get out of the car, hands where I can see them! You're under arrest.
- But Grandpa, you didn't even do anything! That's so unfair.
- I know. I'm glad that life is better for you, but it was hard to make it that way.
- While I was being held in jail, I met many interesting people. They told me stories of what they'd seen.
- You can't get out, man. Once you're in, there's no getting out. It's like a cycle meant to trap you.
- I found that although it happened most frequently, it wasn't just people like me who faced these injustices. This was a systemic issue that had to be addressed.
- I've been here for a while. I got released, but nobody would hire me and no one would approve me for housing. So, I had to find a way to live somehow, and that led me back here.
- I got released soon because I didn't do anything, but I was never the same. I found it crazy that an organization meant to protect society and serve justice caused so much harm to so many people.
- You're free to go, sir.
- Thank you.
- I visited areas of hyperincarceration and talked to many people. They lived in constant fear of arrest, but their circumstances sometimes made it impossible to avoid. They didn't know any other way to live, and I knew I had to do something.
- I had to steal my dinner tonight. I haven't eaten in a while, I had no choice. I feel guilty, but I have to survive.
- I went to courtrooms and observed the processes of sentencing. It broke my heart to see. I did lots of research on implicit bias in sentencing, finding that people of color were more likely to be sentenced than white people who committed the same crime.
- That's 10 years in jail!
- It took a lot of hard work, and in many ways the system is still flawed. But I can tell you how I tried to help.
- That's awful! How did it change?
- People protested peacefully. We had to make lawmakers and politicians aware of the injustices. First, we targeted the areas of hyperincarceration, highlighting the difficulties that these people faced. We used our votes to elect officials that cared.
- Once the cycles began to break, streets became safer and people's lives became better. We could then more easily target and identify implicit bias throughout the system.
- Even today, it's still far from perfect. But we've made a lot of progress, and the criminal justice system is now a more fair, just, and safe place for all.
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