Black drug and murder defendants receive harsher punishment than White ones

Evidence

Although people of color tend to experience more unfavorable outcomes, it is not always Black and Hispanic defendants that have been treated more punitively. The 2012 Vera Institute report shows a review of thirty-four empirical studies published between 1990 and 2011 (Kutateladze, Lynn, & Liang, 2012). These studies examined potential racial and ethnic disparities at initial case screening, pretrial release and bail procedure, dismissal, charge reduction, guilty plea, and sentencing. The report concluded that defendants’ or victims’ race does in fact influence case outcomes, even when a host of legally relevant (e.g., charge severity and prior record) and nonlegal factors (e.g., defendant age and defense counsel type) are statistically accounted for. Overall these published studies showed that minority defendants tend to receive more negative outcomes than Whites. Yet the results are not always favoring White defendants: “While a greater number of studies found that minority defendants are more likely to be prosecuted, held in pretrial detention, and to receive other harsh treatment, researchers also found proof of prosecutors treating White defendants more harshly for certain offenses and at certain discretion points” (p. 17). — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 564 (#complicates, via linked claim)

What those who view American drug policy through a racialized lens tend to miss is the fact that, in the current historical moment, the White proportion of drug arrests has increased due to a sharp reduction in the number of African Americans arrested—not because the number or rate of White arrests has increased significantly. Stated differently, if law enforcement emphasis on drug offending had remained at year 2000 levels, the opioid crisis would have led to the number and rate of Whites arrested for drug offenses increasing markedly. The recent reduction in law enforcement emphasis on drug crimes prevented that from occurring. Moreover, the de-emphasis on drug offending led to steep reductions in the number and rate of African Americans being apprehended for drug crimes. Thus, while the political response to the current opioid crisis may be tainted with racial bias in the form of leniency toward a drug problem widely perceived to disproportionately affect Whites, Black Americans have benefited from the reduced criminal justice emphasis on drug offenses. This is evident in the sharp reductions in the number and rate of drug arrests and prison admissions among African Americans. Yet, despite the recent sharp reduction in African American drug arrests and prison admissions, African Americans’ rates of arrest are twice and thrice as high as those of Whites for drug possession and drug distribution, respectively. — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 1089 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Almost no white rioters against Blacks faced punishment — Noel Ignatiev, How the Irish Became White, 492; Administering presumed guilt by area doubles down racialized vulnerability to death. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 508; Crack cocaine sentencing disparity is racially discriminatory in practice — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 1231 (+18 more)

Broader Connections

• Minority defendants are convicted and sentenced more harshly than Whites #corroborates (0.97)
• Racial disparities in prosecution do not uniformly favor White defendants #complicates (0.80) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 564
• Racialized leniency toward the opioid crisis nonetheless reduced Black drug arrests #complicates (0.72) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 1089