![]() ![]() They are often stereotyped as being violent or addicted to alcohol and other drugs. Black people and Native Americans are more likely to be killed by law enforcement than other racial or ethnic groups.Among people who received a mandatory minimum sentence in 2011, 38% were Latino and 31% were Black. Research shows that prosecutors are twice as likely to pursue a mandatory minimum sentence for Black people as for white people charged with the same offense.Nearly 80% of people in federal prison and almost 60% of people in state prison for drug offenses are Black or Latino.This is particularly the case for drug law violations. People of color experience discrimination at every stage of the criminal legal system and are more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, convicted, harshly sentenced and saddled with a lifelong criminal record.Misguided drug laws and draconian sentencing have produced profoundly unequal outcomes for communities of color. The Facts The Drug War Drives Racial Disparities in the Criminal Legal System Watch DPA's Executive Director Kassandra Frederique speak about how drug policy and the Black Lives Matter movements intersect at our 2015 International Drug Policy Reform Conference. This unequal enforcement ignores the universality of drug dependency, as well as the universal appeal of drugs themselves. Those selling small amounts of drugs to support their own drug use may go to jail for decades. Higher arrest and incarceration rates for these communities are not reflective of increased prevalence of drug use, but rather of law enforcement’s focus on urban areas, lower income communities and communities of color.ĭisparities in arrests and incarceration are seen for both drug possession law violations as well as low-level sales. Nationwide, some of the most egregious racial disparities can be seen in the case of Black and Latinx people. ![]() This impact may vary across cities and regions. Many different communities of color bear the impact of the discriminatory enforcement of drug laws. The drug war has produced profoundly unequal outcomes across racial groups, manifested through racial discrimination by law enforcement and disproportionate drug war misery suffered by communities of color. People of color experience discrimination at every stage of the criminal legal system. ![]()
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