Federal civil rights charges unlikely against police officer in Ferguson shooting

[branford]

169. If you have no major issues with fundamentals of western jurisprudence,

yet believe all who partake of, no less benefit, from a system, will be inherently corrupted, I don't see how any "small systemic revolutions," education or different political leadership, could demonstrably change much of anything. As I understand your argument, you are basically stating that anyone who benefits from a system, corporate, political, justice, etc., ultimately propagates the worst aspects of the system. In essence, your point appears to be that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely, regardless of race, gender or any other condition. I do not disagree entirely with such a premise, although I believe it's far less pronounced in its application, particularly with respect to our criminal justice system.

As for my own suggested solutions, I first recognize that there are no perfect solutions or system. Humans are selfish, tribal and fallible. We should simply mitigate are base natures and prejudicial leanings to the extent possible. I believe the fundamental design of our justice system offers the best opportunity for blind justice and fair outcomes.

It's also necessary to view the criminal justice system and racism in a historic context. It should not be forgotten that not too long ago overt racial discrimination was perfectly legal and expected. Look how far we've come since slavery and Jim Crow, to the Civil Rights Movement and an African-American president and attorney general. Compared to times in living memory, we have already made great strides in eliminating racial disparities. Although we have work yet to accomplish, eliminating all vestiges of discrimination will take time, but the journey has certainly begun.

In order to continue on a positive trajectory, much of the work that still needs to be done is probably outside of the criminal justice system itself. Educating children about the evils of judging someone by the color of their skin and increasing participation of minorities in the middle and upper class workforce, and within in the criminal justice system, not as defendants, but as judges, lawyers, clerks, and even police officers, will probably have the greatest impact. To ensure better outcomes for minority defendants (or minority youth more generally), adequate funding needs to be provided for public defenders, as well as social and family services.