Do you face a charge for drug possession or drug trafficking, which is more a matter of prejudice than justice? If so, you’ve come to the right place.
Part of the prejudice inherent in drug charges involves the nation’s over-reaching obsession with jailing persons for drug offenses.
As Human Rights Watch has noted:
“In 1980, drug offenders comprised only six percent of state prison populations. By 1998, they constituted 21 percent. In federal prisons, drug offenders now comprise 59 percent of all inmates, whereas they represented only a quarter of federal inmates in 1980.”
Beyond that, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has noted severe racial disparities in sentencing for drug crimes, which are non-violent crimes.
“Studies have found that greater racial disparities exist in sentencing for nonviolent crimes, especially property crimes and drug offenses,” the ACLU notes. “In particular, there are staggering racial disparities in life-without-parole sentencing for nonviolent offenses.”
The ACLU also noted that by 2004, African Americans served “virtually as much time in prison for a nonviolent drug offense (58.7 months) as whites did for a violent offense (61.7 months).”
The ACLU continues:
“Racial disparities in sentencing are consistent with a larger pattern of racial disparities that plague the U.S. criminal justice system from arrest through incarceration. These racial disparities are particularly pronounced in arrests and incarceration for drug offenses.”
They conclude:
“Despite similar rates of drug use, blacks are incarcerated on drug charges at a rate 10 times greater than whites. Blacks represent 12 percent of drug users, but 38 percent of those arrested for drug offenses.”
Also keenly aware of racial disparities signifying prejudice in drug charges is the Drug Policy Alliance. As it notes: “Nationwide, some of the most egregious racial disparities can be seen in the case of African Americans and Latinos.”
It notes that almost 80 percent of persons in federal prisons for drug offenses and nearly 60 percent of persons in state prisons for drug offenses are African American or Latino/Hispanic.
“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,” the Alliance says.
The Alliance also notes that arrest and jailing rates have racial disparities for simple drug possession as well as for low-level sales, which are being interpreted as drug trafficking.
“Those selling small amounts of drugs to support their own drug use may go to jail for decades. This unequal enforcement ignores the universality of drug dependency, as well as the universal appeal of drugs themselves.”
The Alliance believes:
“Mass criminalization of people of color, particularly young African Americans, is as profound a system of racial control as the Jim Crow laws were in this country until the mid-1960s.”
If you believe your charge for drug possession or drug trafficking was prejudicial and racially motivated, notify an experienced Houston drug defense lawyer at our law firm today. We can fight for your legal right to a fair and just resolution of your charge and work to get your sentence reduced or dropped.
Contact the Neal Davis Law Firm today for a legal review of your case, and let us help you fight for your legal rights by contesting your drug charge.
