Analysis Of Deborah Peagler s Case And Experience Of...

The intersection of race, class, and gender were all contributing factors in Deborah Peagler’s case and experience of physical abuse. Laws and rules were broken by the system causing extreme pain to both Deborah and her family. Race is a contributing factor especially when crime and the law are involved. Race plays a critical role in sentencing an individual and how much attention the individual will receive. Deborah Peagler was a black woman who was a victim of domestic violence and was incarcerated for the murder of her abuser. The district attorneys (DA) office nor the court or judge took into consideration that she was a battered woman looking for a way out. The DA’s office had evidence that would be instrumental in releasing and or giving Deborah a lesser sentence. They however never presented this information in court and prosecuted her with insufficient evidence. In the reading Defining Racism by Tatum (2008) I learned that the United States â€Å"system operate s to the advantage of whites and to the disadvantage of people of color†(p.7). Prejudice is what the system is basing their decisions off of. White people are in advantage because of their social status and the amount of influence or power they can have over someone. On the contrary people of color become easy targets because of their limited resources. They institutionalize people of color with and by racial policies that have been a key factor in discovering how Deborah had been incarcerated for a crime