Since I've spent over twenty eight years in maximum and medium security institutions involved in inmate education and a published novel, its fictitious story revolving around a real prison, I've been asked by more than a few people why we have such a high number of black men in prison. Although Wisconsin has little more than twelve per cent black people living in the state, close to fifty per cent of our state prisoners are black.
The reason there are so many black men doing time in Wisconsin's prisons, I tell them, is due to their committing fifty per cent of the felonies and being found guilty of committing them by a court of law, or they admitted guilt by seeking a lesser sentence in plea agreements.
Many of those same people who ask me about the high number of black inmates ask a follow-up question: "Do you believe Wisconsin's criminal justice system is racist?"
I simply shake my head and wonder if the questioners think members of our state's criminal justice system—social workers, probation and parole officers, police officers, defense attorneys, district attorneys, and judges—descend upon our inner cities and yank young black men off the sidewalk they are walking or sitting on park benches, feeding ducks in a pond, or enjoying a beer at the corner tavern, for absolutely no reason whatsoever and haul them off to our prisons, throw them in cells, lock the doors, and throw away the keys simply because they are black.
If those inquirers believe the above paragraph is even close to the truth, beam me up, Scotty.
However, I have discovered lately that there are a few members of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial staff who actually believe the state is racist because having committed the same crime, a white man will do less time than a black man. That was the gist of a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel front page article, published in the recent past.
The story concerned the dilemma of being a black man versus a being a white man. Apparently, they committed the same crimes, according to the story's writer. The black man received a much harsher sentence than the white man. And he's still doing time after nineteen long years. The white man, given a much shorter sentence, is free. The story's conclusion: Wisconsin's criminal justice system, including the Corrections Department, is racist.
After reading the story, I learned the only thing the two offenders did similarly was to kill people while they were driving automobiles. They, however, drove their respective vehicles under much different circumstances.
The young black man with an extensive history of criminal activity was driving a stolen Cadillac while police in their squads were pursuing the appropriated car and its driver. Not wanting to be caught, the young black man drove that Cadillac at a high rate of speed, lost control of the vehicle, and killed four people standing at a Milwaukee bus stop.
So far, the young black man has done nineteen years of a deserved lengthy sentence handed down to him by a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge, having found the driver guilty of a number of felony offenses.
The other driver, a young white man from northern Wisconsin with no criminal history, was operating a vehicle in which his best friend accompanied him after the two had left a tavern. Choosing to drive while drunk, the driver lost control of his car, which subsequently left the road and struck a tree, killing the passenger. This young white driver was found guilty of a felony and given an eight year sentence. He has since been released from incarceration.
The story's writer concluded these two men had committed the same crime. However, because the black driver received a much stiffer sentence and still has not been released from incarceration, the writer concluded that Wisconsin's criminal justice system favors whites over blacks.
Comparing these dissimilar crimes committed by these two young men is like paralleling elephants to geese. That's one heck of a stretch.
But why are there so many black men in prison?
First of all, a felony must have been committed. Police seek out eye witnesses and interview them. If there were no eye witnesses, detectives seek clues that will help point out suspects of a crime. Once suspects are apprehended by the police and if the evidence is overwhelming, the county's District Attorney charges the individual or individuals with committing felonious acts.
We're still not finished.
Under our Constitution, people accused by the District Attorney of committing felonies must be offered the opportunity of choosing either a trial by judge and jury or just the judge, herself or himself. The accused has the right to question the accuser. Further, if the accused can't afford to hire an attorney for their defense, they are offered the opportunity of having an attorney, a public defender, defend them, free of charge, thanks to the taxpayers.
For most inmates from Milwaukee, it is not the first time they were accused of committing a serious wrongdoing. Former Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann admitted to a group of us Corrections teachers that it took at least a second felony to warrant a prison sentence in most cases except for horrible crimes like murder and rape.
Furthermore, the majority of the men I taught chose to have his defense attorney bargain with the DA or his assistants for lesser charges and ultimately, shorter sentences. Few men choose the trial route, which leads me to conclude that many Wisconsin inmates are doing time for less serious crimes than they actually committed. And that makes us racist?
Beam me up, Scotty.
Many of those same people who ask me about the high number of black inmates ask a follow-up question: "Do you believe Wisconsin's criminal justice system is racist?"
I simply shake my head and wonder if the questioners think members of our state's criminal justice system—social workers, probation and parole officers, police officers, defense attorneys, district attorneys, and judges—descend upon our inner cities and yank young black men off the sidewalk they are walking or sitting on park benches, feeding ducks in a pond, or enjoying a beer at the corner tavern, for absolutely no reason whatsoever and haul them off to our prisons, throw them in cells, lock the doors, and throw away the keys simply because they are black.
If those inquirers believe the above paragraph is even close to the truth, beam me up, Scotty.
However, I have discovered lately that there are a few members of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial staff who actually believe the state is racist because having committed the same crime, a white man will do less time than a black man. That was the gist of a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel front page article, published in the recent past.
The story concerned the dilemma of being a black man versus a being a white man. Apparently, they committed the same crimes, according to the story's writer. The black man received a much harsher sentence than the white man. And he's still doing time after nineteen long years. The white man, given a much shorter sentence, is free. The story's conclusion: Wisconsin's criminal justice system, including the Corrections Department, is racist.
After reading the story, I learned the only thing the two offenders did similarly was to kill people while they were driving automobiles. They, however, drove their respective vehicles under much different circumstances.
The young black man with an extensive history of criminal activity was driving a stolen Cadillac while police in their squads were pursuing the appropriated car and its driver. Not wanting to be caught, the young black man drove that Cadillac at a high rate of speed, lost control of the vehicle, and killed four people standing at a Milwaukee bus stop.
So far, the young black man has done nineteen years of a deserved lengthy sentence handed down to him by a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge, having found the driver guilty of a number of felony offenses.
The other driver, a young white man from northern Wisconsin with no criminal history, was operating a vehicle in which his best friend accompanied him after the two had left a tavern. Choosing to drive while drunk, the driver lost control of his car, which subsequently left the road and struck a tree, killing the passenger. This young white driver was found guilty of a felony and given an eight year sentence. He has since been released from incarceration.
The story's writer concluded these two men had committed the same crime. However, because the black driver received a much stiffer sentence and still has not been released from incarceration, the writer concluded that Wisconsin's criminal justice system favors whites over blacks.
Comparing these dissimilar crimes committed by these two young men is like paralleling elephants to geese. That's one heck of a stretch.
But why are there so many black men in prison?
First of all, a felony must have been committed. Police seek out eye witnesses and interview them. If there were no eye witnesses, detectives seek clues that will help point out suspects of a crime. Once suspects are apprehended by the police and if the evidence is overwhelming, the county's District Attorney charges the individual or individuals with committing felonious acts.
We're still not finished.
Under our Constitution, people accused by the District Attorney of committing felonies must be offered the opportunity of choosing either a trial by judge and jury or just the judge, herself or himself. The accused has the right to question the accuser. Further, if the accused can't afford to hire an attorney for their defense, they are offered the opportunity of having an attorney, a public defender, defend them, free of charge, thanks to the taxpayers.
For most inmates from Milwaukee, it is not the first time they were accused of committing a serious wrongdoing. Former Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann admitted to a group of us Corrections teachers that it took at least a second felony to warrant a prison sentence in most cases except for horrible crimes like murder and rape.
Furthermore, the majority of the men I taught chose to have his defense attorney bargain with the DA or his assistants for lesser charges and ultimately, shorter sentences. Few men choose the trial route, which leads me to conclude that many Wisconsin inmates are doing time for less serious crimes than they actually committed. And that makes us racist?
Beam me up, Scotty.
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