NYT commentary on race and justice

Though covering well-trod ground, it is still nice to see this New York Times commentary, entitled “Race Gap: Crime vs. Punishment,” reflecting on racial disparities in the operation of the criminal justice system.  Here is how it starts:

If criminal legal proceedings seem to turn out differently for people of different races, when does a constitutional problem exist?

Recent events in Jena, La., where protesters have challenged a prosecutor’s decision to file attempted murder charges against six black youths who beat a white schoolmate, have raised the question anew. (The charges were reduced.) 

Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments over the right of a judge to depart from sentencing guidelines that call for far harsher penalties for crimes involving crack cocaine compared with powdered cocaine. The difference in these guidelines unavoidably involves race since black cocaine users are more likely to use crack, which is a cheaper form of the drug.

“It’s a very key moment,” said Wayne S. McKenzie, director of the prosecution and racial justice program at the Vera Institute of Justice in New York. Because of cases like these, he said, “You have all of these conversations now that are taking place about the disparities in the criminal justice system.”