The Dark Side of the Criminal Justice System

Beginning in the Civil Rights era, the American criminal justice system waged a campaign of terror and warlike oppression of Black Americans, Ronald L. Morris analyzes those dark times, it’s cause, short- and long-term effects, and calls for change.

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The high rates of Black arrests and incarceration from 1960-1990 were a direct result of deliberate government policies and a zealous criminal justice system, under the patriotic umbrella of the War on Crime. This stateside war shared a lot of similarities with the Vietnam war happening simultaneously: racism and extreme cruelty towards those seen as the enemy, deprecation of the others' culture, forceful use of a militarized police with combat experience, repeated failure to observe human rights, and mass incarceration. Unfortunately, this conflict continued long after the Vietnam war ended. Ronald L. Morris reviews those dark times, analyzing their causes, short- and long-term effects, and calls for change.