RACE, ETHICS AND PUBLIC POLICY

Abstract

There is reform and there is revolution. The fragility of Black lives in white spaces is long overdue for both reformation and revolution within the criminal justice organizational model. It is with particular urgency that current litigation within the Department of Justice be examined as it is an example of latent responses of American government to societal fracture and potential policy reform. There is no more representation of the fragility of Black lives in white spaces than American prison systems and relative to this; sentencing policies that disproportionally affect Blacks. This paper is drawn from deontological ethics, holding that human rights are a moral obligation that should not be excluded in the formation of public policy or the application of justice. It is a further suggestion that within reforms are potentials for revolutions. Salient questions proposed by this research are there accommodation for healing within structurally racist systems. Is reform enough or is there cause for revolutionary actions? The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into an alarming string of deaths within the Mississippi Department of Corrections. This paper will examine potential public policy changes that may emerge from that investigation as well as societal responses. Additionally, this paper is drawn from deontological ethics, holding that human rights are a moral obligation that should not be excluded in the formation of public policy or the application of justice.