America's Broken Criminal Justice System

During the Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign, he publicly stated that he believes prisoners should be given the right to vote. Sanders critics don't feel that convicted terrorists, sex offenders, and murderers should be able to vote from prison. One aspect of being in prison is that you lose rights and your freedom. Voting is a very significant right and has a huge impact on everyone. Should the right to vote only be given to the law-abiding citizens? Would giving an exception to convicted incarcerated people make sense?

When the news broke that Jussie Smollet was allegedly a victim of a hate crime Americans were horrified and quickly showed support. As the case was investigated there were many pieces of evidence that could support a defense that the attack was staged and it was a hoax orchestrated by Smollet. People believed he had a clear motive. Jussie Smollet was eventually cleared of 16 accounts without a trial. Some believe you are innocent until proven guilty. Some believe you always need to support the alleged victim. The evidence was never presented to a jury. Do you think Mr. Smollet should have gone through a trial?

Hey all! Just wanted to recommend a book and movie that, I think, amazingly display the history of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system and the ways in which African-Americans, especially men, are systemically prone to incarceration. 13th - Documentary (on Netflix) The New Jim Crow - Book by Michelle Alexander I think you can't understand the criminal justice system in the United States without talking about racial discrimination, so for those interested in this topic, I would highly encourage reading/watching these! I would love to learn about any other books/movies along these lines that y'all have found interesting. :)