Human Rights and Criminal Justice

Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system has three main parts: law enforcement, courts, and corrections. These parts work together to achieve five main goals: punishing the guilty, discouraging crime, helping offenders change, keeping the public safe, and healing harm done to victims. Criminal justice starts when someone commits a crime, but its laws often go against human rights.

 Criminal justice laws violate human rights through the way they are set up. As Dr. Henderson explains in Center for Justice Research, on December 21, 2021, “These violations have immersed themselves in the system, and they become institutional. They are no longer focused on the individual level. This is happening from a number of dimensions: racial disparities, not only in arrest and conviction, but in sentencing, reentry, and the hard sentences that people receive because of low-level, nonviolent offenses.” These laws often target people based on race, religion, or financial status. Those with money and power use the system to harm those who are less fortunate. 

According to the ACLU, “The criminal justice system in the United States raises serious constitutional and human rights concerns. The human rights violations inherent in the system play out on a number of fronts: racial disparities in arrests, convictions, and sentencing; draconian sentences mandating that nonviolent offenders serve the rest of their lives behind prison walls; the heightened impact of incarceration on vulnerable populations, such as children and the mentally ill; and more.” People of color, especially Black and Latino individuals, are more likely to be arrested, charged, and given harsher sentences compared to white people for the same crimes.  

Many people have been incarcerated for crimes they did not commit violating their rights of liberty. Wrongful convictions in criminal justice both violate human rights and laws rule.  In 1989, five Black and Latino teenagers were wrongfully convicted of raping a white female jogger in New York City's Central Park. The convictions were based on coerced confessions and incomplete evidence. In 2002, after the real perpetrator confessed, DNA evidence confirmed his involvement, leading to the exoneration of the five men.  

The justice system, which was meant to bring fairness, no longer always seeks the truth. Instead, it often follows the person who tells the most convincing story. In some cases where there is limited physical evidence, attorneys and prosecutors often rely on emotional storytelling to influence the jury. They try to make the story more convincing, even if it is not completely based on the truth. The person who can tell the most persuasive story often has an advantage, even if they are not focused on finding the truth. 

Criminal justice is important for controlling crime and maintaining order in society. It was created to bring justice to people, and it should do so without violating human rights. No matter which side of the case a person is on, their dignity should always be respected. True justice can only exist if human rights are protected. 

Sources:

Center. “The Intersection of Human Rights and Criminal Justice - Center for Justice Research.” Center for Justice Research, 21 Dec. 2021, centerforjusticeresearch.org/the-intersection-of-human-rights-and-criminal-justice-2. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025. 

Pakosta, Ava. “The Human Rights Violation of Wrongful Convictions in the U.S.” HRRC, 14 Nov. 2024, www.humanrightsresearch.org/post/the-human-rights-violation-of-wrongful-convictions-in-the-u-s. 

ACLU. “Human Rights and Criminal Justice.” American Civil Liberties Union, 2019, www.aclu.org/issues/human-rights/human-rights-and-criminal-justice.