I know our criminal justice system is under the microscope these days.  Many people are not only dissatisfied with it; others think it is entirely broken.  Look at the police brutality issues in Ferguson, Missouri or the death in Baltimore, Maryland.  How about the inordinately high percentage of African American men locked up in our prisons.  Add to that the high number of all people locked up in our prisons—you might think the criminal justice system in America is totally broken.

Okay, some parts are and could use radical improvement.

I just got back from a trip to India and viewed their criminal justice system.  Let me list a few things that are right about our criminal justice system.

1.  For the most part, the criminal justice system in the U.S. is transparent and not corrupt.  Corruption in India plagues every aspect of their system.  If you come from the right caste, can offer large enough bribes, know the right politician, or have other advantages, you can get justice or even special privileges.  If you don’t have these assets, you’re in trouble.
2. The parliament of India—which passes the criminal justice laws—has at least a quarter of their elected members under criminal investigation for vote tampering by violence.  Even if this is incorrect, it shows how the political system has infected the criminal justice system.  It can be used against members of parliament to destroy careers, rather than seek justice.
3. In the U.S. we have the Bill of Rights and bend over backwards to protect individual rights from the power of the majority and the government.  This is not the case in India.  It stems from their philosophy which is opposite of that in the West.  The individual in India has rights, of course, but they are always subject to the needs and benefits of the majority and the community.
4. The caste system is alive and well in India.  The criminal justice system responds to this by treating people from different castes differently.  Even after Mahatma Ghandi outlawed the caste system, India has given token efforts to eliminating it.  But it still exists and every Indian knows exactly where they fit within it.  The top castes received the best treatment in the criminal justice system.
5. Poverty is so wide spread in India that I doubt many people ever get effective legal representation.  India has the second highest population in the world and some of the highest poverty rates.  There isn’t any way the government can provide good legal defense to all these people when they come through the criminal justice system.  TheU.S. does with its large Public Defender programs.

So, we have our problems, but when I compare us to other democracies, our criminal justice system looks a lot better.  We have much to do to improve it, but the very fact we see these issues and do try to change, is important.