Many of us have heard reiterated over the years that the United States is viewed as a “Beacon of Hope” by the rest of the world because of its great prosperity and democratic culture. The great experiment, as it is often called, seems to be holding together, in spite of its fragmented subcultures, different ethnic groups, and political challenges. A remarkable achievement for such a diverse country with so much prosperity … or, in reality, maybe for some of its citizens.
What drives this particular concern to the surface, as it bubbles over into a boiling societal frenzy, is the vast numbers of people that are incarcerated in American prisons. At this point in time, the United States and its territories hold roughly 2.3 million persons in penal custody with many of them serving lengthy sentences. What is so ironic and troublesome about these current numbers in our criminal justice system is that the United States only comprises roughly 5% of the entire world’s population, yet it maintains over 25% of the world’s incarcerated people. Think about that for a moment. The world’s most prosperous country houses the most incarcerated people. Clearly, there is something wrong with that picture.
What’s wrong with this picture is that, yes, American crimes did increase dramatically from the early 1970s to the present because of more violence, more guns, drugs, more heinous acts, more white-collar crimes, widespread corruption and a growing population; however, the sentencing laws of the American justice system have become so much harsher and discriminatory that many more African American residents have fallen into the widening net of incarceration. Currently, Bureau of Justice statistics indicate African Americans comprise a little over 34% of the country’s total incarcerated population, yet African Americans only make up only 13% of the of the country’s total population. This clearly shows the African American population is disproportionately incarcerated in the American penal system. The system is designed and color coded to incarcerate more people of color.
With all this in mind, it is imperative to point out that crime has substantially increased in America over the past 50 years, but the vast majority of it has not been committed by African Americans. More specifically, the increase in incarcerations for people of color (Blacks, Hispanics and Asians) is primarily due to the types of crimes in the criminal codes. During the 1980s under President Reagan when the “war on drugs” was declared, differences in sentencing for powder cocaine and crack cocaine were very distinct. More affluent white citizens were known to use powder cocaine, and more Black citizens were known to use crack cocaine. The sentencing laws were much lengthier for crack cocaine as opposed to powder cocaine, therefore the prisons and jails filled up with more people of color serving longer sentences. Also, it is noteworthy to mention that the more affluent powder cocaine users tended to have better legal representation because they could afford it.
In addition to the “war on drugs” laws during the mid 1980s, later came the 1994 Crimes Bill Act under President Clinton that carried even more stiffer sentences like the Habitual Criminal Act, consequently incarcerating even more Americans for low-level misdemeanant type crimes such as low-level street dealing and drug users like marijuana, opiates and heroin users. Many of these persons were African Americans, and primarily those with addictions in need of treatment, not incarceration. Again, the emphasis was being tough on crime during this period, not on treatment. Coupled with all this was the problem of mandatory sentencing (indeterminant sentencing was discontinued in Indiana in 1977) which had become a two-headed monster filling up all the prisons and jails to the extent prison building became epidemic throughout America. Prisons were, and still are, overflowing disproportionately with persons of color.
Currently, efforts are being made by the more progressive states in the country to reform their respective criminal codes and replace the emphasis on prison building with better, well-structured treatment programs and skills and jobs training. Looking through a more realistic lens, we are not going to solve this over-crowded prison problem trying to build our way out of it — it’s going to require compassion, innovation and commitment. I commend the Indiana legislature for looking boldly at revising the current mandatory sentencing in its antiquated prison codes. It is way past due. Hopefully, due respect is shown to all legislative members while this process is being worked out and substantial progress can be made. The citizens of Indiana deserve better.
Ron Rice is a retired criminal justice professional, local author, and currently a motivational speaker. He can be reached at rice.ronald@sbcglobal.net.
