Justice Can No Longer Involve Only Prosecution

In the past week, the culmination of the George Floyd murder charges made against Derek Chauvin started in a Minneapolis courthouse. This trial brought many tensions and protests, impassioned by the systemic mistreatment of Black Americans by police officers. The fears by the prosecution and Black Americans, though, of acquittal for another police officer indicates one core problem and one byproduct of the problem. Our justice system’s way of prosecuting the police is inherently a conflict of interest, and as a byproduct, the prosecution does not ultimately solve the problem of malicious people. Mediating the byproduct will represent a huge step to making our justice system effective.

The site where former police officer Derek Chauvin choked George Floyd’s neck on May 25th. Chauvin is charged with second degree murder, third degree murder, and manslaughter (Image Source: Flickr).

Cultural Background and Context

Before diving into prosecution and remediation, let me give context about myself and my perspective to add to this issue. As an Asian American, I have dealt with offensive individuals giving vulgar language with anti-Asian sentiments. In New York, during the COVID-19 pandemic, two people told me to go back to China, even though I have never lived in China.

Other Asians have dealt worse hands. As demonstrated two weeks ago, Asians can die because of the erroneous thoughts of those with power and privilege. Speaking on behalf of the community, we do not look for the prosecution of others. Even though that makes us prime targets for derogatory remarks, most Asian Americans want other people to learn from their mistakes, not bail out and face jail time.

This situation applies to the shootings of Black Americans by police members and any other dispute. We do not ask for retribution but education. As I write this opinion, I believe that we have to start from here and build on remedying our justice systems.

Black and Asian Americans Fighting for Justice

The Black and Asian American community have, historically, not homogeneously bonded. Many Asian Americans have a general disinterest towards the Black culture. Meanwhile, the portrait of Asian Americans as the model minority turns off other minority communities. That said, the two communities have more in common.

Black Americans have fought for civil liberties in America since the inception of the United States. Meanwhile, Asian Americans have also voiced the need for more Asian representation since the Chinese Exclusion Act went into effect in 1882. These are fights that work well together, increasing voices and advocating for the same goal: equality and justice.

If there were to be one thing that divides Black and Asian Americans, it involves justice for each community. Many Black Americans wish for the prosecution of their target, bad police officers. Most Asian Americans want race education for the convicted. Both ideas work hand in hand, but education is the best tool to provide meaningful long-term change.

Punishment Does Not Prevent Future Crimes

In elementary school, my math expertise lacked in comparison to other first graders. The class I was assigned used little blue blocks stacked into 10s, 100s, and 1000s. This model taught students how to multiply and divide. Our teacher would allow us to play with other classmates if we finished our assignment. To my knowledge, though, the teacher never gave us concrete instruction as to division and multiplication, except for a worksheet.

As a very young person, I did not understand what was happening, including multiplication and division. Consequently, I would always finish last, and many times, I would not finish. One day, my frustration with the “system” led to me accidentally breaking a case meant to hold ten blocks. The teacher punished me by never allowing me to have fun after I finished.

This consequence did nothing, though, to understand multiplication, division and learn from my mistakes. Instead of learning the multiplication table in my class, I self-taught myself by doing brute-force exercises and memorization. That teaching made me one of the smartest kids in the class, but the system never helped me learn from my mistakes.

That analogy can apply to bad police officers and ignorant racists. The system, the justice system, keeps rightfully charging police officers and racists. That said, the courts never fix the situation because of the lack of education to change wrongdoings. Instead, they call for sentences and bails, and most times, they do not charge lousy police officers, but that is another complex topic for later.

Logic is helpful for any situation. Logically speaking, requiring an offender to serve eight years in prison for killing Asian-Americans for their race does not correlate with reflections and change by the offender. At best, the offender may learn not to kill Asian-Americans for their race, but not because that is wrong, but because they will get charged again. That is not authentic remediation for the offender and should not serve as the model for “justice” to the victims.

Norway: A Model of Remediating Incarcerated Individuals

Will Ferrell is correct when he mentions Norway’s excellence. One of the aspects of Government they correctly built is their justice system. Instead of putting inmates into jail with paltry food and living conditions, Norway attempts to provide education so that offenders can learn from their mistakes and start a new life.

Unlike America’s prisons, Norway’s confinement spaces mimic an individual’s daily life going to school or work. Norway’s layouts promote humanity and incentives work.

An example of a prison in Norway. Its justice system is meant to educate prisoners about their wrongdoings, hoping to never commit the same act in the future (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons).

The purpose of these spaces and the education is to ensure that an inmate never commits the same offense again. Punishing humans does not help them reflect on their mistakes and learn, but reeducation does. Teaching police how to rectify their implicit bias, telling anti-Asians why hating Asians is detrimental, and establishing future career centers follow Norway’s concept in correcting offenders. These actions are what define justice to the victim. Good parents know this when they discipline their kids, and beneficial teachers recognize the need to help their students rather than punish them. This sentiment should apply to our justice systems, too.

Preventing Offenses Involves Learning

Looking on to the George Floyd trial, Derek Chauvin deserves to receive prosecution by the jurors. His role in the killing of Floyd is prominent. He should also receive reeducation, however. All humans make mistakes, intentionally or implicitly. Thus, our job as a society is to better those who have committed heinous acts so that the world can become a more peaceful place for everyone. That goal is one the justice system should hit, not only prosecution but remediation.