Via Ta-Nehisi Coates, a blow for equality:
For the first time since crack cocaine sparked a war on drugs 20 years ago, the number of black Americans in state prisons for drug offenses has fallen sharply, while the number of white prisoners convicted for drug crimes has increased, according to a report released yesterday.
The D.C.-based Sentencing Project reported that the number of black inmates in state prisons for drug offenses had fallen from 145,000 in 1999 to 113,500 in 2005, a 22 percent decline. In that period, the number of white drug offenders rose steadily, from about 50,000 to more than 72,000, a 43 percent increase. The number of Latino drug offenders was virtually unchanged at about 51,000.
This seems to leave us with roughly the same aggregate level of people in prison, so ultimately it’s hard to see this as an enormous advance. One can hope, though, that more white folks in prison may help boost the political momentum for prison reform. Better policies really could give us less crime, less punishment, and less inhumane conditions for those who are in prison.
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