Good Essay On Colors Of Justice

(Institution Name)
Juvenile justice is that which applies to offenders that are below punishable age. The age set as a benchmark in this matter is 18 years as per most state laws. The video talks about how the Juvenile Justice legislation evolved starting from 1961. The video revolves around how the children were supposedly protected from getting the same treatment as punishment for their wrongdoings as the adults that do the same but ended up in discrimination of minors on the basis of their skin color. The video tells the background as to why be such a separate justice was required; it answers it saying that young people with their entire lives ahead deserve a second chance to mend their ways and to become productive elements of their society.
The video goes on to point out an important turn in the history when finally close to 1980s there happened an amendment in the federal laws relieving the young from harsh punishments for crimes that even included murder. That time was of criticism and argument upon whether or not should children below a certain age be punished harshly as it questioned morality and effectiveness. It was greatly endorsed that punished children would become even more indulged in crimes than before as they would see it as a source of taking revenge.
Although the courts at that time were making grounds for providing counseling rather than sentence to the children below punishable age, there was a great gap in theory and practice in the form of parochialism. It was reported that several cases were made by minors that did not actually do anything wrong but belonged to a certain racial group. This loophole got exploited in result of a huge failure of the judicial system when it came to implementation, even though the legislation procedure went just fine. So much so, the bias was made on the basis of gender and even on the base of mental disability.
The video features interviews with young citizens of the United States who speak out about what their neighborhoods are like and the behavior towards them of policemen. The child goes on to elaborate in the video that firing of gunshots, murders, and arrests in his neighborhood is a common thing. One thing, however, worth noticing in the video is that black neighborhoods and people claimed to have been offended by policemen. The minor in the video says that cops often do injustice on streets thinking no one is able to see them, and so they can go about performing racially biased activities. He also goes on to say that in order to survive there, they have to become more defensively offensive towards others and may even have to carry a loaded gun for safety.
Then, in the recent times since after 1980, there has been a debate in the political gallery and the sociologists about ineffectiveness of juvenile justice stating the children do not fear a kind of justice that is not strict enough for them to feel its presence. Hence, they debated upon strict implementation of punishment as the sole resort for the correction of children behavior. Here too, the emphasis is on the black minors who often times are found guilty of crimes. The video criticizes this saying that the strictness is directed one way and against the black minors without considering the ground realities that exist and their soundness.

References

Color of Justice. United States: CPTV, 2013. video