THE EXPERIENCES OF BLACK PEOPLE IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS FOR RACIAL INJURY, A STUDY ON PROCESS AND JUSTICE
Name: FRANCARLO LUIZ DOS SANTOS SILVA
Publication date: 22/09/2023
Examining board:
Name![]() |
Role |
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GEOVANY CARDOSO JEVEAUX | Presidente |
RAPHAEL BOLDT DE CARVALHO | Examinador Externo |
RICARDO GUEIROS BERNARDES DIAS | Examinador Interno |
Summary: When racial discrimination fits into criminally defined conduct and is brought to the attention of the police or the Public Prosecutor's Office, the criminal prosecution begins, in which the offended person will need to go through experiences at different levels of the state justice system, from visits to the police station to giving testimony in a court hearing. It is a contradiction to think that the state justice system produces injustices, so it is expected that official institutions dealing with such crimes actually deliver justice. However, the same racism that generates interpersonal racial discrimination also contributes to the creation of institutions that perpetuate racist thinking, leading to the possibility of new racial discriminations being perpetrated by state agents against the same violated individual seeking reparation for previously suffered damages. In addition to the racial issues that interfere with the creation of a racist imaginary by state justice institutions, it is observed that the punitive-persecutory criminal prosecution model favors a procedural logic that objectifies the victim, as it is primarily concerned with the punishment of the accused. Based on this scenario, the present research aimed to investigate the main obstacles for the state criminal justice system to actually deliver justice in cases of racial insult, so that, from this point, it would be possible to consider proposals that allow the overcoming of such hindrances. To do so, theoretical support was sought in reflections on recognition and justice drawn from Axel Honneth's work, as well as in empirical research demonstrating the state of the art regarding the treatment of victims of racial insult by the Brazilian justice system, and also in the notions of a non-violent criminal model and criminal process developed by Maurício Zanoide de Moraes. At the end of the study, it is concluded that the roots of social injustices derived from racial issues are extrajudicial, but this does not mean that it is not possible to adjust the procedural and procedural treatment that the State provides to victims of racial insult to reduce the damages currently observed. To this end, a non-violent criminal process is seen as an alternative that ensures the parties involved in the process a greater possibility of overcoming the current obstacles to achieving justice by the State in cases of racial crimes.Keywords: racial crimes; justice; recognition and non-violent criminal process.