Date: 09-29-2019
Florida will join Connecticut, Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Oregon in incorporating racial impact statements in the criminal justice legislative process |
From The Sentencing Project:
The Florida Senate has contracted with Florida State University researchers to study how proposed criminal justice legislation could disproportionately affect people of color in the state, the Associated Press reports. African Americans comprise nearly half of the 96,000 people imprisoned in Florida—and thousands more are incarcerated in local jails. Hispanics make up nearly 1 in 8 of the state’s prison population.
The researchers will use existing data to predict how legislative proposals will affect the state’s communities of color. “The new policy, while limited in scope, is a good step to better inform lawmakers about the potential racial and ethnic disparity in sentencing reform legislation,” said Kara Gotsch, Director of Strategic Initiatives for The Sentencing Project. This analysis will be conducted for a limited number of bills and will require agreement from the criminal justice committee leaders.
Florida will join Connecticut, Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Oregon in incorporating racial impact statements in the criminal justice legislative process. Several other states are also considering similar policies. Continue reading >>>
|
|
|
|
