Connect with us

Crime & Justice

Racial Bias in New York’s State Prisons Have Never Been Investigated

Two years after the horrific report, there are still no findings or recommendations released by the state inspector general. 

Published

on

Bias New York state prisons
Envato Elements

In December 2016, The New York Times reported that the levels of racial bias in the maximum-security penitentiaries — Attica, Clinton, Great Meadow — were increasingly high.

In those rural areas, the population is almost entirely white and nearly every officer is too, which is still not an excuse for the terrible behavior that was recounted by some inmates.

Inmates describe being called porch monkeys, spear chuckers and worse. There are cases of guards ripping out dreadlocks. One inmate, John Richard, reported that he was jumped at Clinton Correctional Facility by a guard who threatened to “serve up some black mashed potatoes with tomato sauce.”

The New York Times looked over tens of thousands of disciplinary cases against inmates in 2015, hundreds of pages of internal reports and three years of parole decisions.

Results were horrifying, Blacks and Latinos were disciplined at higher rates than whites. In some cases, twice as often, they also were sent to solitary confinement more frequently and for longer duration.

One in four white men were released at their first parole hearing; fewer than one in six black or Hispanic men were released after their first hearing.

DON'T MISS OUT!
Subscribe To Newsletter

Receive the latest in news, music, and issues that matter. 

Invalid email address
Give it a try. You can unsubscribe at any time. We will never spam your inbox.

Same year, following the reports, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo ordered an investigation into racial bias in the state prison system.

However, two years later, nothing was done. There were no findings or recommendations released by the state inspector general.

“The inspector general’s investigation, which includes broader and more recent data than previously reported on by The Times, remains open and will be reported out expeditiously once responsibly finalized,”said John Milgrim, a spokesman for the inspector general.

Bias in prison is a dangerous phenomenon, which has a huge impact on lives of many. It prevents prisoners from accessing jobs and educational and therapeutic programs, diminishing an inmate’s chances of being paroled. And each denial is likely to add two more years behind bars.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Archives

Tags

unheard voices shop
unheard voices on google play unheard voices on itunes

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Unheard Voices Magazine®️
Unheard Voices Magazine is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Please note we may make commission from links.