Editorial: California bill can limit role of racism in the criminal justice system
It’s hardly news that Black Americans are overrepresented in prison. Nationwide, Black people are locked up in state prison at a rate of 1,240 per 100,000 residents, as compared with 261 whites. That’s 4.8 times greater incarceration of Black than white people, based on 2019 data from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. On average, one of every 81 Black Americans is in a state prison.
In California, it’s worse. One of 62 Black Californians is
