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Essay / The Racial Disparity in Representation in Incarceration to confront and critically analyze issues of race and racism. The CRT has many key elements, each of which allows us to dismantle a certain characteristic of racism piece by piece. The main canons that this article will focus on are that racism is ordinary, the idea of convergence of interests, that race is a social construct, and that the deep and constant racialization of our society has extremely negative consequences on racial minorities. This section will describe the principle of CRT and how it is involved in plea bargaining. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Racism is ordinary CRT posits that racism is very ordinary; this is not the exception, but almost the rule. It happens every day and is normalized within our culture and society. Racism is what people belonging to minority groups experience on a daily basis, and therefore it becomes almost difficult to recognize (Delgado and Stefancic, 2001, p. 7). Our society deals with racism more subtly than ever, and one of those more subtle ways appears in the discretionary plea bargaining decisions made by prosecutors. This facet of CRT is illustrated by how prosecutors go about offering a defendant a plea bargain and the implications of the deal. The fact that black and other minority defendants are most often least affected, combined with the lack of research into why this is the case, shows that these racist practices have been normalized within our justice system. The word “justice” in the criminal justice system is essentially rendered moot. Convergence of interests The CRT evokes the idea of convergence of interests, which implies a social economy of mutual concessions. Racism can “advance the interests of both white elites and the working class.” This results in little or no reason or reward for getting rid of racism (Delgado and Stefancic, 2007, p. 137). Savitsky (2012) discusses the expected costs (high), benefits (questionable), risks (many), and uncertainties (many) of trial choice, not only in the eyes of the accused, but also in those of the prosecutor. Minority defendants are implicitly seen as guilty in the eyes of the law, so they are forced to make a deal. That being said, it would also be beneficial for the prosecutor to offer the accused a plea bargain; the prosecutor, too, could save the resources needed for the trial to spend elsewhere. Why would you work to get rid of a system that benefits you? Even though this system is corrupt and morally reprehensible, it essentially works in your favor. Race is a social construct. There is no biological or genetic component to breed. Race is simply the application of a label to a group of people grouped by vague pseudo-physical characteristics, invidious stereotypes, and blatant disregard for human uniqueness and scientific fact (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001, pp. 7-8). Race is a social construct; it is exposed when necessary and altered when it no longer benefits the corrupt powers that be. Frenzel & Ball's (2008) study on the effects of individual characteristics on plea negotiations has.
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