Essay: Lack of sufficient representation in criminal justice system

Sample Essay

The lack of sufficient representation in the criminal justice system has also led to an increase in the number of female prisoners. In this regard, Ogletree and Drake (2007: 539) show that most of the lawyers are male. The inherent differences in communication between the two genders undermine the possibility of a fair representation in the courts. This is further compounded by the harsh judgements that the judges accord women offenders. Miller and Summers (2007: 739) explains that in order to enhance justice, women need to be represented by female lawyers and the judgement needs to be undertaken from a feminist perspective.

In addition,Kent(2002:112) shows that most of the prison officers are male. In particular, it is ascertained that only one third of the prison officers are women. As indicated earlier, the increased number of rape and other forms of sexual abuse in prisons are partly perpetrated by prison officers. Further, Burgess, Stermer and Burgess (2007: 426) point out that during transportation of prisoners, female offenders are transported in the same vans with their male counterparts. In some cases, female prisoners are dropped at male prisons for some time. Burgess et al (2007:429) shows that this makes the female prisoners uncomfortable because of lack of female facilities at such points.

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