Majority of recent federal inmates are Latino

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By Alec Goodwin

On May 7, The United States Sentencing Commission released some surprisingly unsurprising statistics. According to the commission, we’re locking up far too many Latinos because of immigration crimes. Almost half of all federal felony convictions come from Latinos now, with 16% of the prison population being Latino. Many would argue that the convictions would be drug or violence related, but studies show now that that’s not the case. In 1991, 60% of Latinos convicted of federal offenses were put away for drug related crimes and 20% were put away for immigration related crimes. Now, that number is nearly reversed, with 37% being drug crimes and 48% being immigration crimes.

There are so many convictions because of speedy hearings where immigrants are tried and convicted en masse. They simply plead guilty and are immediately placed in prison. Thousands are being placed in prison each year because of this process. (more…)

European Union supports commutation for Troy Davis

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Baronness Catherine Ashton

By Alan BeanNo one was particularly surprised when Jesse Jackson called on the state of Georgia to commute the death sentence against Troy Davis.  Now the European Union is going to bat for Davis.  According to the Canadian Press, the EU is concerned that an innocent man may soon be scheduled for execution.

Popes and former presidents have previously gone to bat for Mr. Davis and this isn’t the first time the European Union has expressed its concerns about the case.  International outrage over this case is understandable–the United States is the only western democracy that uses the death penalty.  It’s a key ingredient of what Sarah Palin calls “that American exceptionalism”.  (more…)

Publication Bias

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By Chaka Holley

A recent news headline read “Brandon Ross Charged With Murder After Police Fatally Shoot 15-Year-Old Companion”.  Shocked, many re-read the headline for clarity.  

On Wednesday May 27, 2011, 16 year old, Brandon Ross and 15 year old, Tatoiun Williams allegedly stole a man’s wallet and iPod at gun point. When the police caught up with the teenagers, Williams reportedly had a gun in his hand. The police officer shot the young man, killing him.

Although, Williams was killed by the officer, Ross is charged with murder, “the unlawful killing of another human being with “malice aforethought“.” Stunned by the charge against Ross, many have commented on articles and blog posts reporting the story. A large portion of the comments display sympathy for Ross and lament for Williams, but  others favor the legal charges against Ross. (more…)

Will lowered federal penalties for crack cocaine be retroactive?

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By Victoria Frayre

Imagine being sentenced to prison for life for possession of crack cocaine and then one day being given the possibility of a reduced sentence or possibly even an eventual release. How would this change your life and the lives of your family and friends?

This could be an eventual reality for thousands of prisoners currently serving disproportionately longer sentences for possession of crack cocaine as compared to those caught with powder cocaine. (more…)

To the surprise of no one . . .

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By Alec Goodwin

The Global Commission on Drug Policy is calling the war on drugs a complete and utter failure.

Finally, someone has the spine to admit what everyone has known for years; that the war on drugs has been a costly, deadly fiasco.

The report, which was prepared by former world leaders and UN members such as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the former leaders of Mexico, Colombia and
Brazil, and the entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson, soundly condemns the war on drugs as ineffective, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars and leading to rampant drug crime and death.  The report is intensely critical of the United States, where we’re less concerned than other nations about treating drug addicts and users and more concerned about punishing them.  According to the report, America lacks the courage to admit in public that our methods have been ineffective and counterproductive. (more…)

Banning Books in Prison

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By Chaka Holley

Many were shocked when Gary Indiana, a decaying city with a population of 100,000, announced the closing of the city’s main library. Due to budget cuts, the library board voted 4-3 to close the bankrupted city’s main branch. The public response was not in favor of this decision.  For many, the public library was their only access to books and other resources.

Gary is not alone; prisons are also limiting access to reading materials. These limits are not due to budget cuts however, but to prohibition.  The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing South Carolina’s Berkeley County Jail for prohibiting all books outside of the Bible. In Connecticut, the department of corrections is following suit. Similarly, other prisons around the country are also under scrutiny for banning books. (more…)

Should reformers jump on the small government bandwagon?

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By Alan Bean

The talking heads say that federal and state governments are hamstrung by the debt crisis.  Most criminal justice reformers have decided to make the most of a bad situation.   State and federal governments can’t afford to lock up so many people, the argument goes, because there is no money in the bank.

Short-term, this is probably a good strategy.  Governments are drowning in debt and mass incarceration is gobbling up an ever-increasing slice of tax revenues.  In the long run, however, the “we can’t afford to pay for mass incarceration” arguments won’t work.  (more…)

Pastor to Black Panthers ministers to white Baptist University in North Carolina

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J. Alfred Smith

I first met the Reverend Dr. J. Alfred Smith when he “preached a revival” at First Baptist Church, Kansas City, KS.  Charles Kiker, my father-in-law, was pastor at FBC in the mid-1990s and I was invited as the guest singer.  A few years later, when Friends of Justice was created in response to a big drug bust in a little Texas town, Pastor Smith and members of his congregation provided welcome support.  Dr. Smith, pastor emeritus at Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, CA, is now 80 years old, but his commitment to prophetic witness still burns white-hot.  The article below first appeared in the Religious Herald. AGB

 

J. Alfred Smith finds Gardner-Webb University open to diversity

By Norman Jameson

Thursday, May 12, 2011

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. (ABP) — A predominantly white Baptist college in rural North Carolina might seem an unlikely place to find an urban African-American pastor from California known for an agenda of prophetic justice, but Gardner-Webb University just said goodbye to J. Alfred Smith, pastor emeritus of Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, Calif., who served as the school’s first scholar-in-residence this spring. (more…)

When proof isn’t possible

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By Chaka Holley

“Innocent until proven guilty is the old mantra”; but a convicted defendant is “guilty until proven innocent.” James Legate and his wife, Yolanda, are attempting to prove his innocence as he sits behind bars in Texas.

Legate was convicted of the murder of Eddie Garcia, a San Antonio businessman. Garcia, known as the “Bingo King” owned a home-health care business, tons of real estate and managed prize fighters. He is also known for giving a $35,000 bribe to former Congressman Albert Bustamante. The two of them were under FBI investigation. A federal jury found Bustamante guilty of racketeering but Garcia was never indicted. Friends of Garcia have also alluded to Garcia being involved in other illegal practices.

Legate, on the other hand, was the man on trial. His job repossessing cars landed Legate in the middle of a murder scene. It was like a scene from a television crime show. After having drinks at a sports bar, Legate reports going to Garcia’s office in search of Marilyn Maddox, a woman who had recently worked for Garcia and was behind on her car payments. Legate explained that he visited the office in an attempt to repossess her car. (more…)

Texas politicians choose prisons over schools

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A recent article in The Economist argues that conservatives can call for criminal justice reform without appearing to be tough on crime.  The Lone Star State is held up as a prime example of conservative politicians turning away from mass incarceration:

Texas began tackling these problems in the last decade. In 2003 it started mandating probation rather than prison for first-time offenders caught with less than a gram of hard drugs. Two years later it gave the probation board more money to improve supervision and treatment programmes. In 2007, faced with predictions that it would need over 17,000 new prison beds by 2012, requiring $1.13 billion to build and $1.5 billion to operate, Texas allocated $241m to fund treatment programmes. Since 2003 crime of many kinds has declined in Texas. Between 2007 and 2008, Texas’s incarceration rate fell by 4.5%, while nationally the rate rose slightly. Both juvenile crime and the number of juveniles in state institutions have declined.

Over at Grits for Breakfast, Scott Henson isn’t convinced.  (more…)