J. R. Woodgates
Tag Archives: Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly
There are more African-American men in prison and in jail or on parole and probation today than were enslaved in 1850 – a decade before the start of the Civil War.
In her book, The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander argues that minority (especially black) men are being deliberately targeted for disenfranchisement via America’s criminal justice system.
The vast majority of prison inmates are in state prisons, rather than federal prisons – almost seven times as many.
While reduced sentencing guidelines for non-violent drug offenses will now result in shorter prison sentences for those prosecuted by the feds, the vast majority of criminals are prosecuted by state justice systems.
See how – for them – the likelihood of sentencing reform is remote, at best (unless they live in Texas):