UNEQUAL INCARCERATION RATES DESERVE CLOSER SCRUTINY

Disparate incarceration rates between majority and minority males have been
in the news for several years. Minorities, especially African Americans,
are imprisoned at much higher rates than their presence in the population.

A report of the most recent census numbers bears this out, as 68 percent of
this state's inmates are African Americans.

Many persons simply write off the discrepancies, ascribing them to higher
arrest rates among African Americans and do not bother to think beyond that
point. Such a conclusion is simplistic, surface and inaccurate.
Unfortunately, it is reinforced by published reports.

Arrest rates are only one factor that leads to disproportionate
incarceration. Countless other factors account for the disparities.

Some of the possible pertinent factors are:

. Law-enforcement policing patterns, policies, practices, and resource
utilization; . Decisions about whom to prosecute; the type, number, and
severity of charges assessed; . The availability and usage of diversion
programs (pretrial intervention, drug courts, etc.); . Plea-bargaining
practices; . The jury-selection process, including equitable representation
of African Americans in the jury pool and on juries, the effectiveness of
the Batson ruling - that bars selection and rejection of jurors based on
race - and the effect of peremptory challenges to prospective jurors; . The
availability of quality defense counsel and attendant resources; . The
impact of differing sentencing propensities of judges; . The application of
mandatory sentencing laws (i.e., crack cocaine vs. powdered cocaine); .
Prior offenses; . The presence or absence of family support systems; .
Advocacy; . Political calculations and countless other factors that cannot
be accurately identified, quantified, or measured.

Some of these factors may have maximum impact, some minimum. We cannot know
unless a study is done. Incarceration rates, however, always exceed arrest
rates for African Americans, especially for nonviolent crimes, with the
worst discrepancies related to drug-related crimes.

The above is not a general indictment of the system. We know that we have
an excellent criminal justice system overall. However, some problems exist
within it that need addressing.

Tremendous strides have been made in Greenville County in recent years
toward reducing incarceration rates of black males. Nevertheless, the
problem remains a serious one throughout the state of South Carolina and
the nation.

Sixty-eight percent, or approximately 14,000, of the 21,000 South Carolina
inmates (85 percent for nonviolent reasons - mostly drug-related) are
black, even though only 31 percent of the South Carolina population is
African American.

I performed an analysis on incarceration patterns related to
illegal-drug-law violations in South Carolina from 1992 through 1997. Those
results showed that even though approximately equal numbers of white males
and black males were arrested annually for drug-law violations, 85 percent
of those imprisoned were African Americans and only 15 percent were Caucasian.

When 50 percent of those arrested are black, then approximately 50 percent
of those incarcerated should be black if the playing field were level.
Significant deviations from this norm deserve investigation.

Some of the reasons for disparate incarceration rates are legitimate and
nonracial (such as class factors, lack of a family support system,
aggravating charges, etc.). 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 not
be opposed to investigating, analyzing and evaluating the principle reasons.

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

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

Save Our Sons is calling on all who believe in equal justice to support our
efforts. One of the most fundamental and precious rights an American
citizen has is equal protection of the laws. We cannot become the society
we should be until these questions are answered, this problem is solved,
and equal justice is achieved.