[Peace-discuss] new study racial disparity in US prisons

[Ricky Baldwin]

[I don't know much about this group, but some of the
results are surprising - compare Wisconsin to
Mississippi, for example!  Bears thinking about,
anyway.  -Ricky]

Study shows racial disparities in prison 

By DAVID PITT, Associated Press Writer Wed Jul 18,
2007

Blacks in the United States are imprisoned at more
than five times the rate of whites, and Hispanics are
locked up at nearly double the white rate, according
to a study released Wednesday by a criminal justice
policy group.

The report by the Sentencing Project, a
Washington-based think tank, found that states in the
Midwest and Northeast have the greatest black-to-white
disparity in incarceration. Iowa had the widest
disparity in the nation, imprisoning blacks at more
than 13 times the rate of whites.

Such figures "reflect a failure of social and economic
interventions to address crime effectively," as well
as racial bias in the justice system, said Marc Mauer,
the group's executive director.

Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut and Wisconsin
incarcerated blacks at more than 10 times the rate of
whites, the group said, citing Justice Department
statistics from 2005. Vermont had a ratio of 12.5,
followed by New Jersey with 12.4 and Connecticut with
12.

States with the lowest black-to-white ratio were
Hawaii, with 1.9, Georgia with 3.3 and Mississippi
with 3.5.

In Iowa, blacks are imprisoned at a rate more than
double the national average. For every 100,000 people,
Iowa incarcerates 309 whites and 4,200 blacks, the
study said.

Paul Stageberg, administrator of the Iowa Division of
Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning, said the
results are not surprising, but the causes are subject
to interpretation.

He said the state's disproportionately high black
arrest rates are likely linked to high poverty rates
among blacks and lower educational achievement.
In 2001, a governor's task force released a report
that said 24 percent of Iowa prison beds were occupied
by black inmates even though blacks comprised just
over 2 percent of the state's population.

The group that compiled Wednesday's report made
several recommendations such as reviewing federal drug
laws and giving judges more discretion to decide
sentences rather than imposing mandatory minimum
prison terms.
___
On the Net:
The Sentencing Project:
http://www.sentencingproject.org
Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice
Planning: http://www.state.ia.us/government/dhr/cjjp
Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. The information contained in the AP News
report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed without the prior written authority of
The Associated Press. 




       
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