Kerby Anderson

The president and some members of Congress have started an important conversation about criminal justice reform. But while we are having that conversation, it is crucial that we get some of the facts straight.

At a recent conference, Senator Elizabeth Warren lamented this country criminalizes low-level drug offenses. She said, “More people [are] locked up for low-level offenses on marijuana than for all violent crimes in this country. That makes no sense at all.”

She is certainly correct. It doesn’t make any sense. That’s because it isn’t true. Rafael Mangual in a recent op-ed looks at the numbers. The total incarcerated population in the US is just over 2.1 million. In the federal prisons, there is a high percentage serving time for drug offenses, but they are not pot smokers. Most are federal drug traffickers. In the state prisons, only about 15 percent are serving time for a drug offense. Again, the vast majority are in for trafficking. And it is worth mentioning that even the small percentage in for drug possession may have settled on that charge after a plea bargain.

In addition to the argument that we are putting people in prison for minor drug offenses is the argument that we are also putting too many black men behind bars. Let’s begin by stating the obvious. There is a racial disparity. African-Americans make up about 13 percent of the population, meaning that black men make up about 6.5 percent of the American population. Nevertheless, they make up approximately one-third of state prison populations.

The latest figures from the Bureau of Justice show that blacks constitute 35 percent of violent offenders, 45 percent of weapons offenders, 27 percent of property offenders, and 31 percent of drug offenders. Those figures explain why more black men are behind bars and illustrate why we need to get some of these facts straight. I’m Kerby Anderson, and that’s my point of view.