INCARCERATION STATISTICS MISLEADING

From 1992 through 1997, approximately equal numbers of white and black men
were arrested in South Carolina for drug law violations. But 85 percent of
those imprisoned were African-Americans. When half of the arrests are
black, we should expect that about half of those incarcerated should be
black. Significant deviations from this norm deserve investigation. Some of
the reasons for disparate incarceration rates are legitimate and non-racial
(--) class, lack of a family support system, aggravating circumstances, for
example. However, it is highly unlikely that the reasons for most of the
variances are legitimate. The differences are significant enough that
fair-minded persons should support investigating, analyzing and evaluating
the principal reasons.

What my own research turned up with regard to drug laws is just a microcosm
of the disparities that exist throughout the state's criminal justice
system. The most recent Census report showed that while only 31 percent of
the state's population is black, 68 percent of inmates in South Carolina
are African-Americans.

Many people simply write off the discrepancies to higher arrest rates among
African-Americans. As my drug study found, that is simplistic and inaccurate.

Arrest rates are only one factor that leads to disproportionate
incarceration. Others include policing patterns, policies and resource
utilization; decisions about whom to prosecute and on which charges; the
availability and use of pre-trial intervention, drug courts and other
diversion programs; plea-bargaining practices; the jury-selection process,
including equitable representation of African-Americans in the jury pool
and the enforcement of the prohibition on selecting jurors based on race;
the availability of quality defense counsel and attendant resources;
mandatory sentencing laws (i.e., different sentences for crack and powdered
cocaine); prior offenses; the presence or absence of family support
systems; and political calculations.

We cannot know the relative impact of any of these factors unless an
in-depth study is done. We already know, however, that at higher percentage
of convicted African-Americans than convicted whites are incarcerated,
especially for non-violent crimes, with the worst discrepancies in
drug-related crimes.

This is not a general indictment of the criminal justice system. We have an
excellent system overall. But some problems exist, and they need to be
addressed, in our state and in the nation.

Save Our Sons is suggesting a statewide analysis of the criminal justice
process -- from arrest through sentencing -- to identify and quantify the
relative impact of contributory causes of disparate incarceration rates.

The study should be competent and comprehensive enough to withstand
extensive scrutiny. One cannot prejudge the study results. If the answers
were already known with sufficient precision to correct the problem, a
study would be unnecessary.

One of the most fundamental and precious rights a U.S. citizen has is equal
protection under the law. If the criminal justice process is inequitable
for some, the rights of all are jeopardized.