PRISON SNETENCINGS REVEAL RACIAL DISPARITIES

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Blacks and whites charged with drug crimes in Alabama
have an equal chance of being convicted, statistics show. But the
similarity in treatment by the justice system ends there.

Blacks convicted of drug crimes are nearly twice as likely to receive jail
time as whites, and nearly 21/2 times as likely to receive prison terms of
one year or more, according to a Birmingham PostHerald analysis of drug
convictions from 1990 through mid1997. The analysis is based on
information provided by the Administrative Office of Courts.

Critics cite several reasons for the disparity in the sentencing of blacks
and whites:    * The low number of black judges and prosecutors in state
courts. As of late 1996, of 96 district judges statewide, six were black;
of 131 circuit judges, five were black.

The inability of many black defendants to afford topnotch lawyers.

Sentencing enhancements, which add years to the sentences of convicted
drug dealers.

The study further showed that within every drug category, from
misdemeanor marijuana possession to felony cocaine trafficking, blacks
stand a greater chance of jail time than do whites. Examples:

Sixtyfour percent of blacks convicted of cocaine possession received
prison time, compared to 48 percent of whites.

On marijuana possession, 35 percent of the convicted blacks received
prison time, compared to 31 percent of whites.

Jefferson County Chief Deputy District Attorney Roger Brown said he
believed any racial difference in sentencing probably was a result of
blacks having more serious criminal histories than whites.

"Without knowing the histories, those numbers are absolutely
meaningless," he said. "I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty
though: Race doesn't have a damn thing to do with it."

Copyright 1997, The Detroit News