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The US Gulag Prison System - The Shame Of The Nation and Crime Against Humanity
THE SHAMEFUL FACTS PAINT AN UGLY PICTURE OF ANOTHER (LOCKED UP) AMERICA, OUT OF SIGHT AND OUT OF MIND
Here are some key facts. Nationwide black males over 18 are incarcerated at 9 times the rate of comparable white males, and in 11 states those rates range from 12 to 26 times the rate for whites. In my home state of Illinois the rate is 15 times, and in the nation's capital the rate is an astonishing 49 times. The most current data on incarceration for blacks in the US was 1,815 per 100,000 vs. 609 per 100,000 for Latinos, 235 for whites and 99 for Asians. For adult black males the rate was 4,630 per 100,000, 1,668 for Latinos and 482 for whites. In 1999, 11% of black males in their 20s and early 30s were in prison including one third of black male high school dropouts. Even worse, the statistical model used by the Bureau of Justice Statistics at the turn of the century to determine racial and ethnic differences in their chances for incarceration at sometime in their lifetime predicts a 29% chance of serving prison time for a black male aged 16 in 1996. The comparable chance for a white male in the same age group was 4%. In 2002 the Justice Policy Institute reported there were more black men behind bars than in colleges or universities. It also reported that 30% of black males between 20 and 29 are either in prison or on probation or parole.
From the numbers above we know that one in every 20 black men over 18 is now in a state or federal prison compared to one in every 180 whites. And in some states like Oklahoma, Iowa, Rhode Island, Texas and Wisconsin, the black male incarceration rate incredibly is between 13 -14% of all black men in those states - a devastating blow to the black families and communities there. It's also true that the best predictor of a state's incarceration rate and its total prison population is the size of its black population.
By almost all measure the state of what can only be called the US criminal injustice system is shocking and outrageous. In the last 35 years the total number incarcerated has exploded from less than 300,000 in 1970 to more than 7 times that number now. Today the US is number one not only in its total prison population but in the highest number per 100,000 population imprisoned - 690. Only Russia is a close second with 675 while in South Africa it's 400, England - 125, France - 90, Sweden - 60 and Italy - 40. Would anyone suggest the US is 17 times more non-law-abiding than Italy, or is there a simpler explanation?
The US Gulag Prison System - The Shame Of The Nation and Crime Against Humanity
Stephen Lendman, Signs of the Times, March 28, 2006
Is it any wonder that they, the people who could find biblical reasons for
enslaving a group of people, would now find it necessary to imprison that
same group of people. Jim Crow Laws, police backed KKK, Separate and
unequal, segregation, de-facto segregation and the Civil Rights Act of 1964
are the documentation of a persistent attack on the black family.
A recent study showed that a white male with a prison record has a better
chance for employment than a black man with a degree. Ain't that a bitch!
The Capt.
A recent study showed that a white male with a prison record has a
better chance for employment than a black man with a degree.
Interesting statistics! However, your point disregards many other social
aspects. For starters, at what point do you (we) honestly assess and
evaluate personal responsibility. At what point do we stop blaming systems
(government) and look more closely at successful people who came from
marginalized communities and ask them how they did it. Placing blame is
easy dude - especially from your comfortable chair.