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Blockstein Lecture Focused on Racism in the Criminal Justice System

03/05/2019 03:34:50 PM

Mar5

SAC

At the Liesl M. Blockstein Memorial Lecture on February 10, attorney Carousel Bayrd got right to the point with her first slide: “Our criminal justice system is racist.” She then showed through examples and statistics how the criminal justice system is structured in a way that produces racially disparate results in incarceration, even when there is no difference in the rates at which crimes are committed.

Bayrd has been on the Dane County Board of Supervisors since 2006 and has worked on issues affecting the jail, the mental health system, and housing policy. Although she spoke highly of the many judges and law enforcement officers that she has worked with, she maintained that racism is baked into the assumptions underlying the criminal justice system. Because of that, the system will produce the same results regardless of how well-meaning the participants might be or how facially neutral the policies might appear.

She pointed out how criminalization of addiction, bail criteria, public defender underfunding, and revocation policies all contribute to the problem. She noted that the City of Madison, Dane County, and Wisconsin all have some of the worst disparities in the country, despite years of concern about the issue. At the same time, she gave examples of the progress that has been made in recognizing these structural impediments and the promise of new initiatives under discussion. The program ended with a lively question-and-answer session.

This year’s Blockstein lecture topic dovetails with the work being done by the Urgency of Now action team on Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System, co-chaired by Mary Fulton and Jim Mackman. If you are interested in helping to address these issues, please contact Aleeza Hoffert at engage@tbemadison.org for more information.

April 19, 2024 11 Nisan 5784