Examining the disconcerting realities of racial disparities
Today’s Des Moines Register has this lead article examining racial disparities in prison populations. The article is entitled, “Black-white prisoner ratio highest in U.S: How can Iowa change this? Study urges sentencing reform, better defense for indigents; some Iowans urge bolder steps.” Here are snippets:
A national study released today ranks Iowa No. 1 in the nation in the ratio of blacks to whites in prison — a statistic that many advocates say underscores a failure to address one of the state’s most serious problems. The study by the Washington, D.C.-based Sentencing Project found Iowa incarcerates blacks at a rate 13.6 times that for whites — more than double the national average.
Across the country, blacks are imprisoned at nearly six times the rate for whites. Latinos are imprisoned at nearly double the rate for whites nationally. The study by the criminal justice advocacy and research group recommended several remedies for all states, including drug sentencing reform, more judicial discretion in sentencing and better standards for indigent defense.
But black leaders say Iowa — which has been among the national leaders in the incarceration of black men for years — needs to make much more comprehensive changes. Reps. Ako Abdul-Samad and Wayne Ford, two of the state’s four black lawmakers, called for all Iowans to work together on the issue and for the Legislature to make the disproportion a top priority in 2008.
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