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NAACP: Racial Disparity a “Crisis” for Iowa’s Criminal Justice System

Joyce Russell/IPR
Iowa Judicial Branch Administrator David Boyd and Betty Andrews, Iowa-Nebraska President for NAACP

There was emotional testimony at the statehouse today where the governor’s committee on racial disparities in Iowa’s criminal justice system was completing its work.   

The NAACP and others say the group’s recommendations do not go far enough to address the problem of disproportionate numbers of blacks in Iowa prisons.  

With a limited mandate, the committee recommends making jury pools more inclusive, keeping juvenile court records private, expanding drug courts, and cutting prison phone call costs.  

“We appreciate the recommendations that are coming forward,” says Betty Andrews with the NAACP, “but there is no way these  can resolve the systemic issues in our criminal justice system.”

African-Americans testified about the pernicious effects on families decades after a loved one served time. 

"We're looking for equality,” Andrews says.   “We're looking for equity.” 

Andrews calls the inequity a crisis and recommends a permanent commission to keep focus on the issue.  

Other recommendations include sentencing reform to correct the disproportionate number of blacks arrested on drug charges.    The NAACP says the state should keep statistics on racial profiling and pass a law to ban it.

One black participant said it appears the justice system  is “hunting us down and hauling us off.”