Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Reforming the US criminal justice system
Sometimes statistics, while often liable to be exploited and used selectively, spell out sad imbalances:
"In 1969, there were 502 convictions for tax fraud. Such cases, called 'white-collar crimes', usually involve people with a good deal of money. Of those convicted, 20% ended up in jail. The fraud averaged $190,000 per case; their sentences averaged 7 months.
"That same year, for burglary and auto theft (crimes of the poor) 60 % ended up in prison. The auto thefts averaged $992; the sentences averaged 18 months. The burglaries averaged $332; the sentences averaged 33 months."
(From Howard Zinn' "A People's History of the United States")
