Tag: Race

National Registry of Exonerations – Annual Report 2021

EXONERATIONS. The Registry recorded 161 exonerations in 2021.

YEARS LOST TO WRONGFUL IMPRISONMENT. In 2021, exonerees lost an average of 11.5 years to

wrongful imprisonment for crimes they did not commit — 1,849 years in total for 161 exonerations.

OFFICIAL MISCONDUCT. Official misconduct occurred in at least 102 exonerations in 2021. Fifty-nine homicide cases — 77% of murder and manslaughter exonerations in 2021 — were marred by official misconduct.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PROFESSIONAL EXONERATORS. Professional exonerators — Innocence Organizations (IOs) and Conviction Integrity Units (CIUs) — continued to play essential roles. Jointly, they were responsible for 97 exonerations, 60% of the total. IOs and CIUs worked together on 31 of these exonerations in 2021. IOs took part in 67 exonerations, and CIUs helped secure 61 exonerations

www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Documents/NRE Annual Report 2021.pdf

FIU-Race and Prosecutorial Diversion- What we know and what can be done

Diversion is increasingly used by prosecutors in the United States. As an alternative to formal prosecution, diversion programs provide opportunities to avoid conviction, address substance use and mental health needs, and maintain employment and community ties. However, the diversion process can be a source of racial and ethnic disparities. Who gets diverted and who completes diversion successfully has a lot to do with income. Irrespective of skin color, poor individuals are disadvantaged for a variety of reasons, ranging from the quality of legal advice to hefty fees. While we acknowledge that diversion differences can stem from socioeconomic factors, this report focuses specifically on how race and ethnicity influence diversion decisions.

The full report is available here.

Black people face ‘disproportionately’ high charge, arrest rates from Toronto police: report | CBC News

A new report from the Ontario Human Rights Commission has found that Black people are more likely than others to be arrested, charged or have force used against them when interacting with Toronto police.
— Read on www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/black-people-human-right-commission-police-1.5680460

Leading With Race to Reimagine Youth Justice

This report explores the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Deep-End Initiative, which is helping juvenile justice jurisdictions safely and significantly reduce youth confinement — especially for young people of color.

In America today, youth of color are consistently overrepresented in courtrooms and detention centers, youth prisons and other residential institutions. This disparity is most extreme for youth in court-ordered institutions — often called the “deep end” of the system — and for youth transferred from juvenile to adult criminal courts.

See the report HERE

There’s racial bias in our police systems. Here’s the overwhelming proof. – The Washington Post

This is a post from Radley Balko. Sometimes you can access the whole article sometimes you can’t it depends if you have have access to the Washington Post.

There a one key point to remember: Disproportionate is not Discrimination.

Even controlling for crime rates, class and income, racial bias infects every nook and cranny of our courts, prisons, jails and police stations.
— Read on www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2018/09/18/theres-overwhelming-evidence-that-the-criminal-justice-system-is-racist-heres-the-proof/