The Injustice of the Deaf in the Criminal Justice System

The problem faced by the deaf community is the injustice they encounter when in the criminal justice system. Someone who is deaf or hard of hearing has at least a 50 percent loss of hearing in one ear (Ridgeway 2009), and some may be able to read lips. However, only  ½ of all spoken sounds can be translated into American Sign Language (Ridgeway 2009), which makes it difficult for the deaf to communicate without using sign language. Because English and sign language are not the same language, many deaf people are illiterate because of a lack of schooling past a certain age. Even those with schooling up to the age of 18 or older are often functionally illiterate, read at a grade level of second grade or below, and have unintelligible speech†¦show more content†¦When an interpreter is not provided by the police – which is a violation of the law – then the police again cannot explain the Miranda rights in a way that the person being arrested understands (Vernon 2 005). McCay Vernon, a pioneer in deaf education who wrote many articles on the topic, also said that the practice of laws such as Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and numerous other laws protecting the rights of persons with hearing loss who encounter the criminal justice system are often misunderstood or ignored by professionals in the system mainly because of a lack of knowledge of the communication issues facing persons with hearing loss. Trial is another problem for a deaf person. A large percent of deaf people who face criminal charges are convicted and sentenced without understanding the legal proceedings that led to their conviction (Vernon 2005) because an interpreter often is not provided or there is a high likelihood the client being prosecuted is illiterate, is considered Linguistic Incompetent or has PPD. Another problem deaf clients have during the trial is the lack of a qualified interpreter to do legal interpreting, meaning one who is familiar with legal terminology and expansion, which is the act of explaining an unknown concept in detail by finger spelling, examples, pictures and miming. Prison provides many challenges and obstacles that the deaf have to face, oftentimes alone. FirstShow MoreRelatedPros And Cons Of The Death Penalty1348 Words   |  6 PagesThe United States justice system uses many methods of punishment on lawbreakers and criminals. These include jail time, community service, paroles, fines, and the most shocking, the death penalty. The death penalty, also referred to as capital punishment, was first introduced in the form of hanging hundreds of years ago when America was first established. Now, the most common way of execution proves to be death by lethal injection. For hundreds of years, people have argued over whether or not theRead MoreNews Analysis : A Mockery Of Justice For The Poor Essay1459 Words   |  6 PagesRachel Mulder Professor Henry CCJS 201 1 December 2016 News Analysis Report #2 In the New York Times article, â€Å"A Mockery of Justice for the Poor,† the author discusses how the poor are cheated in the criminal justice system. By law, it is mandatory that the government provides an attorney to any defendant facing possible prison time, even if he or she cannot afford one. However, there are underlying fees that must be paid despite these people being poor. John Pfaff mentions how 43 states are nowRead MoreAnylizing Concepts of Justice in to Kill a Mockingbird1660 Words   |  7 PagesAnalyzing the Concept of Justice in To Kill a Mockingbird Through the study this term of the central text, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and related texts, films Rabbit Proof Fence by Phillip Noyce and In the Name of the Father by Jim Sheridan, my understanding of the concept of justice, or what constitutes justice, has altered considerably. We all think we know what justice is, or what it should be. In Australian colloquial terms, it is the principle of a â€Å"fair go† for everyone. In a perfectRead MorePrivileges Within The Justice System Essay6320 Words   |  26 PagesKatherine Sagastume Mrs. Kehrmeyer AP English, Period 1 10 February 2016 Privileges Exist in the Justice System Today many people witness or have experienced the injustices committed towards others or even personally due to race, social status, or because of their ethnicity. Throughout the years, many laws were passed to protect people from these injustices. After slavery in America was abolished, black people were allowed to become citizens and vote due to the 14th and 15th Amendment addedRead MoreLegal Ethics ( Lgls445 )4088 Words   |  17 Pagesthat plays a critical role in the protection of the whistleblowers is the Sarbanes and Oxley Act. The Sarbanes and Oxley Act protect whistleblowers like Snowden in different ways in that it provides channels for anonymous whistleblowing, establishes criminal penalties for retaliation against whistleblowers, and protects whistleblowers in order to preserve their work status (Prentice, 2005). Section 301 of the SOX Act requires that companies have channels for anonymous whistleblowing where audit committeesRead MoreEyewitness Evidence And The In nocence Project3722 Words   |  15 Pageshim an hour after the attack, the research articulates. The woman identified Brown as her assailant, both at the scene and during the trial three months later. Brown denied the accusation, but his alibi, supported by a handful of witnesses, fell on â€Å"deaf ears†. The jury convicted him of attempted aggravated rape on Nov. 19, 1997. Less than two months later, then Judge Walter Rothschild sentenced him to 25 years in prison, with no chance of probation, parole or suspended sentence. The Innocence ProjectRead MoreBlack Men in the Prison System Essays1839 Words   |  8 Pagesseemingly fallen on deaf ears in the world of these students. As a result, a great number of them have turned to crime. The rate at which black males are being trapped in the prison system is alarming Today African Americans comprise 62% of imprisoned drug offenders, though they are only 13 5 of the national population. One out of every 115 black males enters prison each year on a felony drug crime, compared with one of every 1,150 white men, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Black youthsRead MoreBlack Men In The Prison System Essay1792 Words   |  8 Pagesseemingly fallen on deaf ears in the world of these students. As a result, a great number of them have turned to crime. The rate at which black males are being trapped in the prison system is alarming Today African Americans comprise 62% of imprisoned drug offenders, though they are only 13 5 of the national population. One out of every 115 black males enters prison each year on a felony drug crime, compared with one of every 1,150 white men, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Black youthsRead MoreTorts study notes Essay17110 Words   |  69 PagesTHEORIES OF TORT LAW: AFFIRMING BOTH DETERRENCE AND CORRECTIVE JUSTICE Gary T. Schwartza Copyright (c) 1997 Texas Law Review Association; Gary T. Schwartz Introduction Currently there are two major camps of tort scholars. One understands tort liability as an instrument aimed largely at the goal of deterrence, commonly explained within the framework of economics. The other looks at tort law as a way of achieving corrective justice between the parties. If these are alternative camps, they are alsoRead MoreDefining Deviancy Down By Daniel Patrick Moynihan2906 Words   |  12 Pages In our everyday society, we see things but pretend to be blind, we hear things but pretend to be deaf, we taste freedom but pretend to live in hell, we smell corruption but pretend to live in heaven, and we touch others sorrow but pretend to be emotionless. What is becoming of our society you ask? We are becoming more lenient towards deviancy as time progresses, meaning that we are departing from the norm. The article written by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, â€Å"Defining Deviancy Down†, illustrates the