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New study finds disparity in VA’s criminal justice system

By Sylvina Poole Staff Writer A new study found wide disparities in Virginia's criminal justice system regarding African Americans. The report, authored by the Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, revealed that Blacks under criminal supervision is overwhelmingly disproportionate in the state as compared to their white counterparts. The study also looked into racial profiling and sentencing procedures. African Americans make up 20 percent of the state population and account for over half of felony arrests. On a national scale, African Americans account for 13 percent of the population, but nearly 51 percent of its prison population. "This is the greatest prison in the world," said King Salim Khalfani, executive director for the Virginia NAACP. "It is straight up criminal what the prosecutors and the police are doing when they target the Black community." For the past 3 years, he said, "our local branches have written police departments requesting statistics on arrests in the Black community and the results were so overwhelmingly lopsided as it relates to the police and the Black community." The Advisory Commission had began its probe into racial bias and the state law enforcement in response to concerns over the conviction of pro basketball star Allen Iverson in 1993 for his involvement in a fight in a Newport News bowling alley. The commission's original purpose for the investigation came about due to the high racial. tension resulting from the Iverson case because the crime involved a young Black man and his accusers were white. Iverson's supporters felt the sentencing was unfairly handed down which is reflective of the type of racism that continues to plague the South throughout history. The commission's finding clearly reflects the continuous racial problems in the Commonwealth's legal system.