What Justice Means to Me free essay sample

What Justice Means to Me and How I Will Impact Society Karin Jordan University of Phoenix This class is the first in my major of Criminal Justice, and throughout this class there will be a great deal of valuable information obtained. Justice can have several meanings to it because all of us are different in our own way, and we all will have different outlook on situations. Throughout this research paper you will learn about what justice means to me, and how I think I will impact society once I achieve my bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. Secondly, you will be able to compare with the remaining of the class mates to see exactly how many of our views are the same or different. Last but not least, there will be at least two examples of real cases that have occurred in the past with my opinion on if I thought justice was served or not with my insight of what justice means to me. We will write a custom essay sample on What Justice Means to Me or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Justice is a very important topic I believe in the world today because of the criminal law system (network) and the issues taking place. I feel that justice is when a person who committed a crime and is found guilty is accountable for the crime. Secondly, justice also means to ensure that the defendant is treated fairly and impartial through the criminal justice process. The criminal justice process has a total of 11 steps which is the following: crime, investigation, arrest, booking, initial appearance, arraignment, trial, sentencing, appeal, corrections, and last but not least the release. Once the defendant has been found guilty of the crime and successfully went through all the steps of the criminal justice system and the decision was fair I will considered â€Å"justice served†. The first example I would like to discuss will be the Michael Vick case about dog fighting. Michael Vick is a famous NFL football player that was a starting quarter back for the Atlanta Falcons. In July 17, 2009, Michael Vick was indicted with illegal dog fighting. The name of the organization was â€Å"Bad Newz Kennels† located in Surry County, Virginia. Vick had numerous accounts against him for killing pit bulls by fighting them. Vick was convicted and sentenced to serve 12 to 18 months in prison. Now that Vick has served his sentence and now released I feel that â€Å"justice was served†. However, now that Vick is out and trying to continue on with his life higher authorities is making it hard. There was a great deal of controversy about him being able to continue to play football ever again, and finally they decided to let a NFL team draft pick him but still not allowed to play until NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell gives the okay. With that being said, I feel now in this case â€Å"justice was not served† because they are still trying to penalize him after he served his time for the crime. The second case is dealing with Donte Stallworth who is the wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns in the NFL. He actually was driving under the influence of alcohol and hit a man crossing the street on March 14, 2009. Later on throughout the investigation Stallworth pleaded guilty to vehicle manslaughter of a 59 year old man named Mario Reyes. Stallworth blood-alcohol level was 0. 126 which was over the state of Florida alcohol level. During the court proceeding with the case concerning Stallworth he was sentenced to 24 days in jail which he completed, along with 10 years of probation, 1000 hours of community service, and last but not least a â€Å"lifetime† bar against driving. The NFL final verdict for Stallworth as far as his penalty thru NFL, he was suspended for the entire season without pay for violating the league’s policies on personal conduct and substance abuse. In this case it may seem like â€Å"justice was served† because there was not any type of harsh punishment but I don’t agree that â€Å"justice was served†. The reason I disagree that â€Å"justice was served† is because Stallworth killed a human-being versus Vick killing dogs. Stallworth should have been required to do some type of prison term for killing a human-being due to drunk driving because it still was a death involved. It shouldn’t matter how much money or fame a person may have if a crime is committed then there should be proper punishment for the crime. Now that I have explained two examples based on my opinion if justice was served or not I feel that I will impact society in some way once I obtain my bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. I will be fair in any decision that needs to be made due to the situation of the client I may be dealing with at that time. I will also consider trying and helping to create positive outcomes for the clients that maybe on parole or probation at that time. I will avoid trying to be negative with the clients because they already going to have a negative outlook about themselves in some people perspectives. I feel once they have served their time for the crime the individual should have a second chance at regaining a positive outcome for their life. For example: If I had a client that was charged with assault and battery and they served their sentence and then was placed on two years of probation, I will then come up with a plan to help the client with their anger and to avoid them from getting in trouble for the same thing as before.