12.9: Conclusion

Last updated
Save as PDF

Page ID: 129213

\( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have committed crimes. In Texas, the criminal justice system is represented by a collaborative effort by a number of government agencies and institutions whose goals are to identify and apprehend those are suspected of, or have committed, criminal conduct and playing critical roles in the prosecution, punishment and the parole process relating to convicted criminals. The manner in which the state’s post-trial criminal justice system—which focuses more on punishment than on rehabilitation—operates mirrors the sentiments of most of its residents. Texas political culture favors swift and stern punishments for offenses against the law, especially in the areas of violent crime. There is significant pressure on the Texas legislature to accommodate the political wishes of the state’s electorate, contrary to popular legislative and other trends evidencing themselves in new law enforcement strategies and techniques, the creation and operation of alternatives to the courts, and the post-conviction criminal justice systems of those beyond the state’s borders. This is especially so when voters perceive that departures from the norm may actually benefit those who have been criminal accused and convicted. Many fail to recognize that the criminal justice system must not protect its citizenry, but—perhaps more importantly—it must protect the constitutional rights of those who are accused, tried and convicted of crimes. Still, it is anticipated that reforms will, in fact, materialize when one considers the consistent demographic changes of the state and, with them, the slow and gradual political changes that generally accompany those shifts.