Pubdate: Thu, 08 Jun 2000 Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) Copyright: 2000 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Contact: http://www.postnet.com/postnet/stories.nsf/Home Forum: http://www.postnet.com/postnet/config.nsf/forums Author: John O'Connor - Associated Press Writer ILLINOIS' DRUG WAR FOCUSES ON BLACKS, DEFENSE ATTORNEYS COMPLAIN SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Illinois' aggressive drug war undermines families and is disenfranchising blacks, defense advocates claim, while law enforcement officials say the state's approach answers the public's demand for cracking down on crime. The New York-based Human Rights Watch released a report showing that Illinois has the nation's greatest disparity in incarceration rates of blacks and whites for drug crimes. Black men are imprisoned for drugs at a rate 57 times greater than whites in Illinois, the report says. And 90 percent of those put behind bars for drugs are black, the highest rate in the U.S. "These drug cases have turned into a gold mine for police officers in overtime and night court, and all that time we were getting tough on drugs, we caused more disaster and poverty," said William Murphy, a Chicago criminal defense attorney. He suggested that tax money used for incarcerating a drug offender go to expanding drug treatment programs to keep offenders productive. More people are going to prison for longer periods because the Legislature has enhanced penalties for selling drugs near specific places -- such as schools or public housing projects, Murphy said. And blacks are over-represented in the court system because police target places where blacks live, he said. But Greg Sullivan of the Illinois Sheriff's Association said law enforcement officials target criminal activity, not racial groups. "It (incarceration) is a problem for those on the street corners doing the criminal activity because that's what the police are targeting and that's what the public is demanding," Sullivan said. Morgan County State's Attorney Charles Colburn, president of the Illinois State's Attorneys Association, denied that race plays a part in prosecuting criminals. Rather, prosecutors hit drug offenders hard because drugs cause other societal problems, he said. "Robberies and theft and forgeries and deceptive practices are undertaken in getting money to buy drugs," Colburn said. Human Rights Watch, compiling 1996 data from 37 cooperating states, pointed out that white drug users outnumber black drug users 5-to-1. The group called for reducing the reliance on prison for nonviolent drug offenders, and instead urged expanding treatment opportunities. Nationally, blacks are imprisoned about 13 times more frequently on drug charges than white men -- 482 of every 100,000 black men sentenced to prison are there on drug charges, compared to 36 of every 100,000 white men. Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said the problem is caused by police targeting blacks, stopping them based on race; excessive sentences for nonviolent drug offenses; lack of adequate defense attorneys; and the use of prisons for economic development. "In the court system, we're profiled from the point we're stopped until we're in the court room," said Sen. Donne Trotter, D-Chicago, chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus. "We suffer the full consequences of the law when there are alternatives that can be given." Trotter plans to continue pushing a plan he has for expunging court records of felony convictions for rehabilitated, nonviolent drug offenders so they can get jobs, vote and become productive again. He also will push for more funding for teen programs, including those that offer alternative punishments to prison. - -------- On the Net: Human Rights Watch site: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2000/usa/ - --- MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk