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Political leaders often avoid the issue of what to do about the large numbers of nonviolent—predominantly minority—drug offenders. How should the next president handle this issue?
"...there's Neiman & Marcus justice for the rich, and there's K-mart justice for the poor. The death penalty is often Black, Yellow, Brown, but it's always green."
Kerry Max Cook
Former Death Row Inmate
People of color routinely report harsher treatment at the hands of police and receive longer sentences than whites committing similar offenses. This disparity between the arrest, detention, conviction and sentencing of people of color and whites is most obvious in drug-related offenses. Nationally, African American children are nearly nine times3 more likely, and Latino children are three times4 more likely to have a parent in prison than white children.
Additionally, a report by The Sentencing Project5 cites that an estimated 5.3 million Americans have currently or permanently lost their voting rights as a result of a felony conviction. It goes on to cite that in the 5 states that deny the vote to ex-offenders, 1 in 4 Black men is permanently disenfranchised. Thus, the large numbers of African Americans and Latinos tied up in the criminal justice system have added ramifications on communities of color.
On the minds of many Americans:
1 The "war on drugs"—what should be done about it?
2 Overcrowded prisons—how can the overcrowding be reduced?
3 The juvenile justice system—should it be reformed?
4 "Zero tolerance" disciplinary policy—is it good for U.S. public schools?
5 Prosecuting children—when should children be prosecuted as adults?
6 Racial profiling—what should be done about this practice?
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