BLACKS JAILED FOR DRUGS FAR MORE OFTEN THAN WHITES

Black men in Illinois are heading to prison on drug charges at a rate 57
times higher than the rate for white men, according to a report being
released today.

The Illinois figure exceeds that of any of the other 36 states whose prison
admission rates were examined in the report from Human Rights Watch, a New
York City-based organization that describes itself as "dedicated to
protecting the human rights of people around the world."

"What we hope is that this report will lead to a stock-taking by public
officials, both as to the racial impact of the war on drugs and the absurdly
high levels of incarceration, regardless of race," said Jamie Fellner,
author of the report and associate counsel for Human Rights Watch. "You
simply can't have a functioning democracy in which so many people are in
prison for non-violent offenses."

By and large, people imprisoned for drug-related crimes aren't dealt with
appropriately, Fellner said. As a result, prisons across the country are
full of non-violent drug offenders.

Prison isn't the only solution, she said, maintaining that there should be
more emphasis on substance abuse treatment and prevention programs.

"Part of our view is at this point, the cure is worse than the disease.
Black neighborhoods are as decimated by overincarceration as they are by
drug abuse," she said.

Fellner's report, "Punishment and Prejudice: Racial Disparities in the War
on Drugs," is available online at www.hrw.org/reports/2000/usa/.

According to the report, in 1996, the most recent year for which statistics
were available, 1,146 of every 100,000 adult black men in Illinois were sent
to prison on drug offenses. In comparison, 20 of every 100,000 adult white
men in this state were incarcerated on drug offenses the same year.

"Nationwide, the rate of drug admissions to state prison for black men is 13
times greater than the rate for white men," the report says.

The figures on prison admissions by race don't specify what drug crimes -
possession or selling, for instance - were involved.

Other findings of the report include:

- - Nationwide, blacks make up 62 percent of drug offenders admitted to state
prisons.

- - Two out of five blacks -- 40 percent -- sent to prison are convicted of
drug offenses, compared with one in four whites -- 25 percent.

- - Nationwide, one in every 20 black men older than 18 is in prison.

Human Rights Watch singled out several states, in addition to Illinois, to
point out examples of racial disparities.

For instance, the report said, black men convicted of drug charges are
heading to Wisconsin prisons at a rate 53 times higher than that for white
men. That rate is second only to Illinois'.

The Human Rights Watch report is based on several sources of data, including
the National Corrections Reporting Program conducted each year by the U.S.
Department of Justice. The report used NCRP data and included prison
admissions information from just 37 states.

A spokesman for Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan, Jerry Owens, said the
report offers "certainly provocative findings," and it merits further study.

Ryan's policy staff will examine the report, Owens said, adding that his
boss "believes in equal justice and a fair and impartial judicial system."

Morgan County State's Attorney Charles Colburn, who is president of the
Illinois State's Attorneys Association, said he hadn't seen the report or
reviewed its methodology.

"But from my standpoint, we prosecute cases as they come to us" and
regardless of who is involved, he said.