Wednesday, October 14, 2015

What were the occurrences of discrimination displayed in the movie American Violet?

Really, the entire theme of the movie revolves around discrimination in the criminal justice system.  This discrimination could be based on race, but also social class.  I have cited an article that makes reference to a 2012 study by three prominent universities that demonstrates racial bias in the criminal justice system.  The study found that black defendants were 30% more likely to do jail time than white defendants that committed the same crime.  This type of racial bias is demonstrated in the film because all of the accused were African-Americans.  Furthermore, it would appear that innocent black citizens were targeted merely due to their race.


Class bias or discrimination was also demonstrated in the film as well.  All of the defendants were from a housing project and live in a community where the median household income was well below average.  The accused in this case were represented by court-appointed attorneys who pressured them to accept plea agreements.  There was no evidence they had committed a crime and the prosecution's case was very weak.  It is likely that if the defendants had the resources to hire their own personal attorneys, they would have all been advised to fight the charges.  

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