Rocky Mtn News

1 in 19 black men in prison

Colorado's figure is 10 times higher than for white men

By Burt Hubbard, News Staff Writer

One in every 19 adult black males in Colorado was in prison at the end of the decade.

That's more than twice the rate for Hispanic males and about 10 times the rate for white males in the state, according to a Rocky Mountain News analysis of census and prison records.

The findings on the disproportionate number of black males in prison -- higher even than the national average of one in 23 -- stunned some top state officials.

"I'm obviously deeply bothered by those statistics," Lt. Gov. Joe Rogers said.

Rep. Peter Groff, D-Denver, said that next week he will ask for a comprehensive review of the criminal justice system, including a racial breakdown of offenders and the effectiveness of treatment programs for convicts.

Community leaders said the large number of blacks in prison reflects a criminal justice system that doles out long prison terms for nonviolent drug offenses and tends to concentrate on minorities in low-income neighborhoods.

"You're dealing with systematic prejudice that exists within the judicial system," said the Rev. Gill Ford, state director of the Colorado National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "The statistical data now, unfortunately, is just verifying that."

Others say it's too complex an issue to blame on racial prejudice.

"You're searching for an answer that I know all the best minds involved in the whole judicial system have been struggling with for years and years and have never really come up with an answer," said Ari Zavaras, Denver's manager of safety.

In 1999, 23% of inmates in Colorado were black

But no one denies the impact the high numbers have on families and communities.

Elgin Phillips of northeast Denver left behind three small children and his Park Hill barber shop when he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for a 1996 drug conviction.

"My son is a good guy who got caught up in the dealer game," his mother, Emma Phillips, said.

She said 25 years was much too long a sentence for the crime.

"Clearly, the impact is significant," said Sen. Penfield Tate, D-Denver. "It diminishes the economic clout of the community and it has a huge disruptive affect on the social fabric and family life."

During the 1990s, the state's prison population doubled to about 16,000 inmates. While the percentage of males in prison rose for all racial and ethnic groups, it continued to rise disproportionately among blacks.

Census and prison figures show:

One in every 19 black males in Colorado was in prison as of 1999, the latest figures available. In 1991, it was one in every 26 black males.

The rate for Hispanic men imprisoned in Colorado was one in 49, while it was one in 192 for whites. Those ratios also changed during the decade from one in 75 and one in 286, respectively, in 1991.

Nationally, one in 56 Hispanic males and one in 204 white males were in prison in 1999.

Blacks constituted 23 percent of the Colorado prison population in 1999, but only 4 percent of the overall population. Hispanics made up 28 percent of inmates, compared with 15 percent of the overall population in 1999. Whites made up 46 percent of inmates, compared with 78 percent of the population.

Six of the 10 counties with the largest percentage of blacks are now on the plains, where state prisons are located.

The five fastest-growing counties in terms of black population during the 1990s were home to new prisons built during the decade.

The situation is not unique to Colorado.

National figures released last month by the Census Bureau found that more than one in 10 young black males, 18 to 29 years old, were institutionalized in 2000, most likely in prison.

That was more than three times the rate for young Hispanic males, 3.2 percent institutionalized, and six times higher than the rate for young white males, 1.7 percent.

"It's depressing as can be," said Marc Mauer, director of the Sentencing Project in Washington, D.C., which advocates alternatives to long prison sentences. "It's no excuse for getting involved in crime. But this is a time when people would otherwise be starting families and careers."

Zavaras and Ray Slaughter have spent their careers working in the criminal justice system. Zavaras previously was Denver's chief of police and director of the Colorado Department of Corrections. Slaughter is director of the state's criminal justice division.

Both cringe at the high number of minorities in prison but believe that socioeconomic issues -- not race -- are major factors.

"Figures such as these do illustrate that we have a disproportionate population of minorities within corrections," Slaughter said. "This does not indicate a racially biased system but rather is reflective of other underlying factors. Those factors have long been of concern to prosecutors, judges and courts and certainly include economic and societal issues."

Zavaras said the high number of minorities in prison "always troubled me." But he said there are too many checks and balances in the criminal justice system to allow racial bias to prevail.

"You can't just say it's because the police are doing this, because you have the district attorney who has to accept the case and ultimately prosecute it. You've got citizen jurors who are actually doing the convicting," Zavaras said. "I have really tried to focus in and look at any one factor, but it's just too complex."

Ford said he isn't convinced that race doesn't play a role in the high numbers.

"It's much easier to target minority communities because they are usually on the low end of the economic spectrum," Ford said. "They are not going to have all of the lawyers and legal assistance to fight it."

Rogers, the lieutenant governor, said that prison terms for using and dealing crack cocaine, popular among black drug users, were much higher than sentences for the powder cocaine popular among white drug users.

"You clearly have to punish the crime," he said, "but we have to be focusd on new ways to help people addicted to drugs get off those drugs."

And Bill Vandenberg, co-director of the civil rights group Colorado Progressive Coalition, said the high percentage of blacks in prison is a symptom of misplaced state priorities.

"The statistics on black prison overrepresentation should send all Coloradans a message that our priorities are seriously in need of change," Vandenberg said.

Groff and Tate are worried about the lasting impact the prison sentences have on the communities and families left behind.

That's why Groff said he has asked the state auditor to look at the state's rehab programs to see how effective they are at heading off repeat offenders.

He said he will also ask Legislative Services, the legislature's research arm, to review the criminal justice system. It will include a racial breakdown of offenders, the impact of nonviolent drug convictions, and the impact on the prison system of mandatory, minimum sentences.

"The people of Colorado have a right to know that the amount of money that is being spent on corrections is being used to do more than just house inmates," Groff wrote to the state audit committee.

Activist Jeff Fard deals with the results of the system through his programs for ex-cons.

"After guys get out of jail or prison and someone asks why they haven't seen them in a while, the guys will say they've been in the Bahamas or they've been on vacation -- all codes for they've been in jail," Fard said.

"It's madness."

News staff writer Dawn Riley contributed to this report. Contact Burt Hubbard at (303) 892-5107 or hubbardb@RockyMountainNews.com.

April 14, 2001

-- Anonymous, April 15, 2001