Criminal Justice Trends Evaluation
University of Phoenix
Contemporary Issues and Future in Criminal Justice

People in society continuously change therefore people continue to evolve as our perceptions change. In this paper the student will assess the past, present, and future trends in the interface between elements of the criminal justice system. In the assessment the student will evaluate the criminal justice connections with surrounding society. The student will identify the recent and future trends affecting the criminal justice system. Last, the contemporary issues and the value of the criminal justice system in a changing society.
Interface between Components The American Justice in the 1800s was quite different in the aspect of how the laws have changed. In the 1800s there were not enough law enforcement officers to enforce the laws. Therefore, many people believed it necessary to take the law into his or her own hands. An example of vigilante justice in the 1800s was the lynching of Henry Smith. This is a sad example of how people were treated; in 1893 Henry Smith was tortured and burned alive in front of a crowd of 10,000 people. People were executed for crimes not committed and trials were not an option (Keene, 2012). In the 18th century B.C.E. the first know death penalty was in the Code of King Hammurabi of Babylon. A person could have 25 crimes before the sanction of the state for the death penalty. Capital punishment in the 18th century consisted of stoning, hanging, crucifixion, burned alive, lethal injection, drowning, and fire squads (Capital Punishment, 2012). Today the criminal justice system concerning the death penalty and capital punishment has come along way. Although people as far back as the 1600s took the law in their own hands, today it is considered immoral and unjust. Citizens who commit a crime today are