Racial Disparity in Drug Law Convictions
by Terry Gorski
posted DrugWar.com
Dec. 27, 2004
On October 20, 2004 a groundbreaking coalition
of black professional
organizations came together to form the National African American
Drug Policy Coalition (NAADPC). The NAADPC urgently seeks alternatives
to misguided drug policies that have led to mass incarceration.
The NAADPC was founded by Clyde Bailey Sr.,
the past president of the National Bar Association. The NAADPC
will target appropriate treatment for drug addictions, including
pretrial diversion, and "therapeutic sentencing", and
promote more education and community prevention.
"What we hope to do is shift public
resources into education, prevention, treatment and research programs
that have proven more effective in reducing drug abuse rather
than through the use of expensive criminal sanctions. We are trying
to focus on the health issues of these people rather than criminalizing
the behavior," said Clyde E. Bailey.
NAADPC membership includes a broad base of
black professional organizations, including
the National Bar Association; the National Organization of Black
Law Enforcement Executives; Howard University School of Law; the
National
Association of Black Sociologists; the National Association of
Black Psychologists; the National Association of Black Social
Workers; the National Black Nurses Association; the Congressional
Black Caucus Foundation; the National Dental Association; and
the National Black Caucus of State Legislators.
Since 1994, the disparity between white and
non white prisoners as a percentage of the total prison population
has widened dramatically. State prison incarceration rates for
African Americans for drug law violations are almost 20 times
those of whites. Although whites account for 69% of drug offense
arrestee=s and blacks 29%, blacks are disproportionately convicted
and comprise 48% of the U.S. prison population, while they are
only 12.5% of the general population. In 1998, 3% of all black
men were in prison on any given day. And one out of three Black
men aged 20 -29 were under some form of criminal justice control,
which are more black men than were in college.
The jailing of so many young men (and increasingly
young women) stunts the vitality of communities and contributes
to family dissolution, single-parent households, increased incidence
of HIV/AIDS and reduces job prospects and political participation.
Much of the disparity in incarceration rates
can be attributed to the insidious inequality of the Mandatory
Minimum Sentences (MMS) passed by Congress in 1986. Federal Mandatory
Minimum Sentences are determined solely by the weight of the drug,
or the presence of a firearm during a felony offense. The prisoner
must serve 85% of this sentence, and there is no parole available.
A judge must impose the sentence, regardless of the defendant's
role in the offense, his likelihood of rehabilitation or any
other mitigating factors.
Treatment works and is an effective alternative
to incarceration. The drug problem is becoming an increasingly
smaller part of the public conscience.
While more and more drug addicts are incarcerated for the crime
of addiction, we see vast resources being consumed with no positive
outcomes. Public health should guide our policies on addiction,
not criminal justice.
Kurt Schmoke, the dean of Howard University
Law School, and former Baltimore mayor, calls drug addiction a
public health problem and advocates medical treatment for addicts
instead of jail time. Schmoke said he wants to help fix what he
calls "one of the most important issues affecting the quality
of life in urban America. I strongly believe that this war on
drugs should be a public health war."
Our misguided drug policies cause havoc in
all communities, especially our black urban communities. The war
on drugs has nourished a ruthless underground economy, fed the
growth of both international drug cartels and domestic gang warfare,
and endangered Americans' civil liberties.
Arthur L. Burnett, a retired Washington,
D.C. superior court judge, who is the full-time executive director
of the Coalition, stated "Drug courts are
fine, but they are only dealing with an infinitesimal amount of
people. They don't have all the resources needed to deal with
all of the people who really need help. Effective treatment will
reduce the number of crimes which would otherwise have been committed
by these individuals, thus making the community safer and reducing
the costs of law enforcement and the
courts."
Drug policy affects more than dealers and
addicts, it impacts the entire
community, the family, employment, and political participation.
We can do better, and we must do better. Treatment works and needs
to be our first line of defense.
To learn more about working with mandated
clients, preventing relapse, and understanding the challenges
of returning inmates, join us on January 13 - 15 2005, for Relapse
Prevention Update.
For information, including home studies and
trainings on Post Incarceration Syndrome, Treating Chemically
Dependent Offenders, or Managing Antisocial
Personality Traits visit www.cenaps.com
or call 1-352-596-8000.
For information on publications, please visit
Herald House Independence Press at www.relapse.org,
or call 1-800-767-8181.
