Unfairness in Law Enforcement
inequality is the condition where the Blacks are treated unlike the Whites. Living in white society, the Whites tend to have special treatment in a trial at the jurror,
according to the novel. Grisham 1989: 61 depicts the law inequality below.
Can Carl Lee Hailey receive a fair trial in Ford County? Why couldnt he? Jake asked.
Well, hes black. He killed two white men, and he will be tried by a white jury.
You mean he will be tried by a bunch of white racists. No, thats not what I said, nor what I implied. Why doyou
automatically assume I think you are all a bunch of racists? Because you do. Were stereotyped, and you know it.
The reporter from New York approaches Jack Brigance. He questions Carl Lee’s trial in Ford County whether it will be fair or not. The reporter senses the
background of the case “a black man killed two rednecks in the South” into a deeper understanding that it will be more than just a case. He feels that the trial
can be unfair, as he will be tried by a white jury. Southerners are mostly consisted of Whites. While in the Ford County, the Blacks are only twenty six percent
among the population Grisham, 1989: 35. The reporter smelled that there was a kind of subjectivity regarding the trial.
The law enforcement in the south is portrayed by Grisham 1989: 61 as stated below.
Would he be indicted if he were white? Hes black, and he has not been indicted.
But if he were white, would there be an indictment? Yes, in my opinion.
Would he be convicted? Would you like a cigar? Jake opened a desk drawer and found a Roi-
Tan. He unwrapped it; then lit it with a butane lighter. No thanks.
No, he would not be convicted if he were white. In my opinion. Not in Mississippi, not in Texas, not in Wyoming. Im not sure about New
York. Im concerned about your acquittal. The black community is
concerned. If you were white, you would most likely go to trial, and most likely be acquitted.
Brigance talks about Carl Lee’s trial. That it will be tricky, whenever it comes to a blackman against the whites. Jack Brigance believes that there is an
equality in the law enforcement regarding people in the court. In a normal court, the process will be: indicted, convicted, and acquited. For the Blacks, they are
eager to be convicted. For the Whites, they tend to be indicted and then acquited. This unfairness is concluded to place the Blacks into a certain position. That the
fairness and equality in the law enforcement will never be on the Blacks’ side. The Blacks do not have the proper judgement for the mistakes they have done.
The judgement is merely based on the jury duties’ perspectives who are ableto decidewhether a defendant is guilty or not.
Another inequality in the south is mentioned in Grisham’s work 1989: 110 below.
“The rape of a child is a horrible crime, and whos to blame a father for rectifying the wrong? A white father, that is. A black father evokes the
same sympathy among blacks, but theres one problem: the jury will be white. So a black father and a white father would not have equal
chances with the jury. Do you follow me?” The characteristic of the jury is determined by the defendant. If the
defendant is a black, the jury will fight against him. In contrast, whenever it comes to a white man in the defendant, a white jury is eager to be with him. It
means the Whites will stand for the other Whites, whenever it comes to a contact between Blacks and Whites. This unequal chance between a black father and a
white father is viewed to make Blacks’ powerless in a courtroom. The Whites do not want to lose power to control the Black. Thus, this reflects their superiority.
Actually, the Whites realize that the unfairness in the law enforcement is a product of old racist sentiment in the past. But still, this does not mean anything.
The Blacks are still being subjugated. The Whites want a control beneath the society. Their racist idea is originated in the old south, where slavery became the
proof of how racial superiority is shown. This superior – inferior stuff bring more than a strong or powerless race, this results in the today in white southerners’
mind. This is reflected in Grisham’s quotation 1989:111: “Your conviction would be another slap at us; a symbol of deep-seated racism; of old prejudices,
old hatreds. It would be a disaster. You must not be convicted.”
For the Blacks, they do not deserve a chance in the law enforcement. The law still put the Whites into the more powerful side. This so-called white world is
full of the white standards. These standards are accepted by the world, as a part of modern civilization. However, in order to cope up that, the Blacks will feel
subjugated as they face an order that is not based on their view. More or less, this also shows how race can be shaped into superior or inferior side. This is reflected
in Grisham’s potrayal below. Plus hes black, and this is a white county. I have no confidence in
these bigots around here. If he were white and he killed two blacks who raped his daughter, the
jury would give him the courthouse. Grisham, 1989:120
Thus, in the south the Blacks will still find the difficulties to have the same rights as the Whites in the case of judgement in the court. The example of that law
enforcement in the south is reflected below. Weve got a good system, and old Judge Noose hands down tough
sentences. You gotta let the courts handle it. Our system wont survive if we allow people, especially niggers, to take the law into their own
hands. Thats what really scares me. Grisham, 1989:173 The position of the Blacks in the southern society is very powerless. As
the Whites rule the society by creating and filling it with their standards, the Blakcs are unable to cope. Blacks are the object of a unfairness. Two sentences
“…if we allow people, especially niggers, to take the law into their own hands...” and “…that’s what really scares me…” from the quotation above really portray
the tension of racial injustice in the south. There are many big chances for the Whites whenever they want to fight back in a inequality or injustice. In contrast,
in the south, the Blacks do not stand a chance to fight back. Every law and eyes in the society seem to watch and control them. The Blacks’ fighting back means a
threat for the Whites. In order to make that becomes impossible, the Whites will always pressure the Blacks until they cannot speak up.
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