Current Events > When Race Tips the Scales in Plea Bargaining

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When Race Tips the Scales in Plea Bargaining

http://tinyurl.com/yc9htjqv

Two officers escorted a young black man into the courtroom, bringing him in handcuffs from a holding cell in the back called the pen. They placed him beside his public defender and stepped away. So far, things were routine.

The prosecutor had offered the man a plea deal of probation, and he indicated that he would accept. In a scene that plays out dozens of times a day in the Bronx Criminal Court, the judge ran through a constitutionally required script.

She explained what it means to accept a prosecutors plea offer: that he was giving up his right to a trial; he was admitting guilt; he could not change his mind. The judge asked, as she must: Is anyone forcing you to accept this plea today? At this point, most people quietly say "no." But the man responded yes, he was being forced to accept the plea.

Refusing to accept meant facing the strong arm of prosecution and potentially going to prison for years. He protested that he had no real choice. Three court officers surrounded him. The judge repeated the question: Is anyone forcing you to accept this plea today?
This time, flanked by officers, he said no. A few minutes later, he walked out a free man, but he now had a criminal conviction and the oversight and constraints that come with probation.

Countless people like this young man face tremendous pressure to accept a prosecutors plea offer. And most criminal punishment resultsnot from a trial by a jury of your peersbut in convictions imposed through plea deals. Against this backdrop, a new study showing racial bias in the plea bargaining process demands attention and action.

A new study from Carlos Berdej of Loyola Law School demonstrates for the first time that there are significant racial disparities in the plea deals white and black people receive on misdemeanor chargeswith black people facing more severe punishments.

Berdej analyzed 30,807 misdemeanor cases in Wisconsin over a seven-year period and found that white people facing misdemeanor charges were more than 74 percent more likely than black people to have all charges carrying potential prison time dropped, dismissed, or reduced. And white people with no criminal history were substantially more likely to have charges reduced than black people who had no criminal history.

This suggests, as Berdej concludes in his report, that prosecutors use race to judge whether a person is likely to recidivate when deciding what plea to offer.

Exactly the kind of thing Kaepernick has been protesting against
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"Berdej analyzed 30,807 misdemeanor cases in Wisconsin over a seven-year period and found that white people facing misdemeanor charges were more than 74 percent more likely than black people to have all charges carrying potential prison time dropped, dismissed, or reduced. And white people with no criminal history were substantially more likely to have charges reduced than black people who had no criminal history."

Do they have a breakdown of the % of each kind of misdeamor committed by blacks and whites respectively for these 30,807?

Regardless that judge seems shady as fuck. Doesn't get the answer he wants so his goons move in to intimidate?
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Bump
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FrisbeeDude posted...

I get committing to a gimmick, but Jesus Christ, bro

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The Admiral posted...

FrisbeeDude posted...

I get committing to a gimmick, but Jesus Christ, bro

You, of all people, should be interested in stuff like this. You're one of the more vocal proponents of the "black people are just exaggerating" school of thought. Wouldn't you be interested in looking into some of the data you work so hard to prove doesn't exist?
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FrisbeeDude posted...

The Admiral posted...

FrisbeeDude posted...

I get committing to a gimmick, but Jesus Christ, bro

You, of all people, should be interested in stuff like this. You're one of the more vocal proponents of the "black people are just exaggerating" school of thought. Wouldn't you be interested in looking into some of the data you work so hard to prove doesn't exist?

I am, just not when Slate is the source. And not when you're the topic creator, since you won't debate this issue at all beyond calling people racist and claiming hypothetical hypocrisy.
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The Admiral posted...

FrisbeeDude posted...

The Admiral posted...

FrisbeeDude posted...

I get committing to a gimmick, but Jesus Christ, bro

You, of all people, should be interested in stuff like this. You're one of the more vocal proponents of the "black people are just exaggerating" school of thought. Wouldn't you be interested in looking into some of the data you work so hard to prove doesn't exist?

I am, just not when Slate is the source. And not when you're the topic creator, since you won't debate this issue at all beyond calling people racist and claiming hypothetical hypocrisy.

"I'm interested in learning about issues concerning people of color, but only on my terms and in a way that doesn't trigger my defense matrix"
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