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FedCURE Report: Mass Incarceration in the United States: At What Cost?

Mass Incarceration in the United States: At What Cost?

Thursday, October 04, 2007

Hart Senate Office Building

Washington, D.C. 

Julia M. Fantacone, of Kimmitt, Senter, Coates, & Weinfurter, Inc, Washington, DC attended this meeting and filed report on behalf of FedCURE.

Witnesses:

Glenn C. Loury (Brown University)

Bruce Western (Harvard University)

Alphonso Albert (Second Chances Program)

Michael Jacobson (Vera Institute of Justice)

Pat Nolan (Prison Fellowship)

This was a joint committee hearing focusing primarily on the economic effects of mass incarceration in the United States with consideration of racial disparities, drug sentencing, and prisoner reentry. Congressional members present included Sen. James Web (D-VA), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), Rep. Robert Scott (D-VA), Rep. Phil English (R-PA), Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA), and Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY).

Members of the committee voiced concerns about the rise of the incarceration rate in the United States over the past decade. Senator Casey called it, “a human tragedy, and a fiscal nightmare.” One main concern is that there have been enormous economic costs associated with prison construction and operation as well as productivity and wage loss for prisoners upon reentry. Senator Scott stated that, “the cradle to prison pipeline has many more economic costs than the cradle to college pipeline.” A second issue discussed was the disproportionate impact incarceration has had on minority communities. Much of the growth in the prison population is due to changes in legislation, mainly drug policy, not an increase in crime.  Prisoner reentry was a top concern and all members agreed that the Second Chance Act was on the right path to alleviate prisoner reentry problems. Senator Brownback stated, “It’s a bipartisan bill with a lot of support. It is ready to go to the floor. I think we can get a signature on it from President Bush.”

Glenn C. Loury, Professor of Social Sciences, Brown University

Background/Concerns

·        The United States imprisons at a far higher rate than any industrialized democracy in the entire world

·        A high level of imprisonment is not a rational response to high levels of crime

·        The extent of racial disparity among those imprisoned is greater than in any other major area of American social life

·        The war on drugs has not been successful and has had a disparaging affect on the African American community

Recommendations

·        Repeal mandatory minimum drug sentencing and release non-violent drug offenders

Bruce Western, Department of Sociology, Harvard University

Background/Concerns

·        The rise in incarceration rates today is five times higher than in 1972 with the highest increases in uneducated African American males

·        The economic opportunities for those released from prison have been greatly diminished due to erratic work histories and little education

Recommendations

·        Reexamine consequences that limit ex-felons to benefits and employment

·        Support prisoner reentry programs that provide transitional employment and other services

·        Support the establishment of local social impact panels to evaluate unwarranted disparities between juvenile and adult incarceration

New report from Transform: AFTER THE WAR ON DRUGS, TOOLS FOR THE DEBATE

After the War on Drugs: Tools for the debate is a guide to making the case for drug policy reform. It is designed to reframe the debate, moving it beyond stale ideological arguments into substantive, rational engagement; and provide the language and analysis to challenge the prohibitionist status quo, and to make the case for evidenced based alternatives. Copies have been sent to approximately 3000 MPs and policy makers and leading thinkers in the UK. We can send copies to key individuals in the US and beyond where appropriate so please let us know. The report is found here - http://www.tdpf.org.uk/AboutUs_Publications.htm#tools. Find out more about Transform here - http://www.tdpf.org.uk.

New Report from The Sentencing Project: Racial Disparity in Incarceration

The Sentencing Project is pleased to announce the publication of a new report, Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration By Race and Ethnicity. The report provides an overview of the use of incarceration in all 50 states, including both prison and jail populations. It can be viewed here: http://sentencingproject.org/Admin/Documents/publications/rd_stateratesofincbyraceandethnicity.pdf. Highlights of Uneven Justice include the following: - African Americans are incarcerated at nearly six (5.6) times the rate of whites and Latinos at nearly double (1.8) the rate of whites. - There is broad variation among the states in the ratio of black-to-white incarceration, ranging from a high of 13.6-to-1 in Iowa to a low of 1.9-to-1 in Hawaii. - States with the highest black-to-white ratio are disproportionately located in the Northeast and Midwest, including the leading states of Iowa, Vermont, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Wisconsin. The Sentencing Project recommends that policymakers and practitioners consider the findings of the report and develop means to reduce unwarranted disparities in the justice system. Recommendations include revisiting drug control policies, addressing overly restrictive mandatory sentencing laws, assessing the impact of "race neutral" policies, and shifting resource allocation to create a broader range of alternatives to incarceration.

Reality Check: Report on the latest U.S. coca cultivation estimates

[Courtesy of Jessica Eby, Program Assistant for the Andes Region and Drug Policy, Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)] Below please find a link to the new report "Reality Check: The latest U.S. coca cultivation estimates make one thing clear: there is plenty of coca," by John Walsh, Senior Associate at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA). Key points include: - The coca cultivation estimates are far from an exact science, but the latest figures leave no doubt that there is plenty of coca being grown, and plenty of cocaine being produced. - Overall Andean coca cultivation in 2006 may have reached its highest level in 20 years. - As was the case for 2005, ONDCP reported increased coca in Colombia for 2006, despite record-setting fumigation and manual eradication operations. Fumigation is clearly not deterring coca growing. - By presenting the coca estimates for 2006 as ranges – rather than only as single figures that mask the considerable measurement uncertainties – ONDCP has opened the door to more realistic consideration of the coca growing and cocaine production estimates. - Now Congress should insist that all past-year and all future coca cultivation estimates be presented as ranges, not just as single figures. - The high coca cultivation levels, especially in Colombia, indicate continued robust cocaine supplies and provide no reason to expect imminent reductions in U.S. cocaine availability. As always, we welcome your feedback regarding this report and encourage you to contact us with your questions and comments. http://www.wola.org/media/Reality%20Check%20June%202007.pdf
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