Governor Looking into Racial Bias in NY Prison

Racial Bias in New York prisons comes as no surprise to me. This is nothing new with having racial bias, especially in prisons in New York. We really have quite a long ways to go as far equality. Now, the NY Times didn’t beat around the bush with this piece. That’s without a doubt.

New York’s governor has launched an investigation into racial bias in the state prison system following an investigation by The New York Times.
The newspaper reports that black prisoners were punished at higher rates and subjected to solitary confinement more often than white inmates.
Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday that he has directed the state inspector general to look into the allegations and recommend immediate changes if necessary.
The Times’ report looked at nearly 60,000 disciplinary cases from last year and found that black inmates at one upstate prison were four times more likely than white prisoners to be sent to isolation. The paper also found that blacks were held in solitary confinement for longer periods than their white counterparts.

The Times article says that African-Americans were punished more and were put in solitary confinement more often than their white inmates, which sadly isn’t surprising. The Times found more information -- they looked at 60,000 disciplinary cases from 2015 and found out those African-American inmates at one upstate prison were four times more likely to be sent to isolation than the white prisoners, which is is just wrong in so many ways.

The article also found out that African-Americans were held in solitary confinement for longer periods of time than their white inmates. This is called mass incarceration in the realest way possible. We think we’ve progressed, but every time we make big strides in this country to move past this, we take more steps backwards and we start over from square one, which is why this is a process that will take a long time to eradicate.

In conclusion, Gov. Cuomo says that this New York Times article is “disturbing.” It’s that and even more. Cuomo is now launching an investigation into this racial bias in the state prison system following the article's release. Cuomo is letting the state inspector general look into these allegations, and will make immediate changes if necessary. They will be necessary, VERY necessary- this oppression needs to END!!!