NY Times finds racial bias in parole decisions

One of the chief indictments social reformers make against the criminal justice system is that it is rigged against blacks and Hispanics, who, they claim, don’t get a fair shake from judges, prison officials, parole officials or politicians. A New York Times analysis published over the weekend of some 60,000 disciplinary cases found that guards punish black male prisoners at twice the rate of white men.

A study published Monday by the Times shows that the racial bias in New York is especially evident in parole decisions. The Times says, “the racial disparity in parole decision in the state is perhaps the most dramatic manifestation of a broken system.”