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| Also listed in: Blogging the State of Wisconsin | Restore the Vote Wisconsin |
Marquette Professor John McAdams might be too busy silencing speech to comment, but two more studies have determined that Wisconsin leads the nation in yet another dubious category. The studies found that African Americans in Wisconsin are 42 times more likely than whites to receive prison terms for drug convictions. The stat is the highest racial disparity in drug sentencing in the nation. The studies also found that the City of Milwaukee has the second-highest racial disparity for drug arrests among all major U.S. cities.
The new national studies largely validate an analysis done by the Wisconsin Sentencing Commission last year. At that time, by “creative” use of numbers, John McAdams was able to crow bar his preconceived notions into the data. It was his confused attempt to belittle what are clear disparities in our criminal justice system. When he finally finishes his crusade against a comedian, McAdams will likely turn his biased analysis back to why these racial disparities are no big deal. While he is in the mood to censor stuff, that would be one presentation that I would like to nominate.
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I sent copies of this article to many state legislators, and to the governor's office, with little or no response. About one year ago, Governor Doyle appointed a commission to investigate and begin work on this appalling injustice. I have no idea whether my column had any bearing or effect, but I was certainly glad to see the Governor's initiative.
While new data may have been gathered in the last three years, I have not seen a better, more concise exposition of the issue than my article three years ago. It is useful for presenting to those ignorant of the facts, and to those skeptical that the disparity could be due to anything other than what they believe to be the inherent criminal nature of people of color who run afoul of "the law".
See this article at this Link