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Iowa Imprisons Blacks at Alarming Rate
Extreme racial disparities in Iowa’s sentencing patterns have put the state under scrutiny once again. Iowa has a population of about 3 million people. Only 2.3 percent, about 20,000, are black. Yet the incarceration for black Iowans is six times greater than their white counterparts.
A 1999 investigation by the …
A 1999 investigation by the …
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More from this issue:
- Doing Borrowed Time: The High Cost of Back-Door Prison Finance, by Kevin Pranis
- Arkansas Woman Left in Cell for Four Days Without Food or Water
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Monitor’s Second and Third Reports Find Medical Care From CMS for Delaware Prisoners Still Lacking, by David Reutter
- Paying Texas Prisoners Undermines Outside Businesses, by Gary Hunter
- Colorado DOC Increases Legal Photocopy Fees 400 Percent
- An Interview with Randall Berg, Executive Director of the Florida Justice Institute, by Todd Matthews
- Could the Fall of Lehman Brothers Signal Trouble for Private Prison Corporations?, by Bob Libal
- Private Prisons a Public Disgrace in Texas, by Gary Hunter
- Ex-Warden’s Wife Charged With Assisting Prison Escapee, by Gary Hunter
- Privatized Medical Care in Mississippi Prisons: Another Wexford Failure, by David Reutter
- Illinois Federal Jury Awards Record $15.5 Million in False Arrest Case, by Matthew Clarke
- Effects of Florida’s Faith Based Prisons Found to Be Promising in Reducing Recidivism, by David Reutter
- Florida County Sheriff Liable for $1.5 Million for Acts of Informant on Work Release
- Massachusetts Jail Conditions Unconstitutional Says U.S. Department of Justice, by Gary Hunter
- CA Justice Commission: “Low bid, flat fee” Defense Attorney Hiring Scheme Shortchanges Indigent Criminal Defendants, by John Dannenberg
- $13.5 Million Florida Jail Strip Search Settlement
- Maricopa County Special Prosecutor Padded Résumé, Law Partner Quits, by Matthew Clarke
- U.N. Recommends Worldwide Death Penalty Moratorium
- CMS Nurse Injects 15 Delaware Prisoners with the Same Syringe
- Errantly Paroled Mentally Ill San Quentin Prisoner Commits Mayhem In San Francisco
- Iowa Imprisons Blacks at Alarming Rate, by Gary Hunter
- HIV Cases in U.S. Prisons Decline
- Nevada Phone Contract Reduces Costs to Prisoners’ Families But Increases State’s Kickback, by David Reutter
- U.S. Pardon Attorney Replaced After Investigation Reveals Racial Comments, Retaliation and Mismanagement, by Brandon Sample
- Texas State Auditor States Some Prison Rehabilitation Programs Effective, Some Not, by Matthew Clarke
- Justice Policy Institute Brief Links Crime, Wages and Unemployment, by Matthew Clarke
- $145,000 Awarded to New York Prisoner Who Falls While Cutting Wet Grass
- Incarcerated New York Women Denied Access to Reproductive Health Care, by Gary Hunter
- Alabama Federal Court Awards $538,178 in Attorney Fees and Expenses for Women Prison Conditions Litigation
- $156,289 in Attorney Fees Awarded for Enforcing California Jail Prisoners’ Federal Consent Decrees, by John Dannenberg
- Report Finds Incarceration Damages Children Psychologically, Emotionally, by Gary Hunter
- CA State Auditor: 352 Licensed Residential Living Facilities Errantly Housed Registered Sex Offenders, by John Dannenberg
- Former Female Prisoners Settle Sexual Abuse Lawsuit in Virginia
- Identity of Prisoner Who Smuggled Gun into New Jersey Facility Revealed by Appeals Court, by Gary Hunter
- California Proposition 36 Drug Program Participation Credits Apply Against Subsequent Probation Revocation
- BOP Administrative Tort Claims Fail to Satisfy PLRA’s Exhaustion Requirement
- $80,000 Settlement in Utah Jail Prisoner’s Suicide
- $5,775 Awarded For 104 Days of Over-Incarceration in Ohio Prison
- Supreme Court: Death Penalty for Child-Rape Barred as Cruel and Unusual Punishment
- Ninth Circuit: Washington Law Creates Liberty Interest in Sex Offenders’ Early Release to Community Custody
- Crack Cocaine Offenders Denied Representation for Sentence Reductions, by Brandon Sample
- Snitch: Informants, Cooperators & the Corruption of Justice, by Ethan Brown Public Affairs Publishing, 273 pages, $25.95, by David Preston
- Pre-Release Jail-Abuse Questionnaires Said to Pressure Prisoners, by John Dannenberg
- California Juvenile Jail Ward, Brain Damaged from Suicide Attempt, Awarded $4.6 Million
- Hawaii Prisoner Awarded $20,000 in Slip and Fall Lawsuit
- Former Illinois Prison Watchdog Group Executive Acquitted of Bribing Prison Officials
- Banning of Newsletter in Wisconsin Prison Violates First Amendment, by John Dannenberg
- Florida Imposes Broad Budget Cuts, but Prison Officials Increase Pay Through Double-Dipping, by David Reutter
- News in Brief:
- Romance with Jail Guard Lands Sex Offender Back in Prison, by Gary Hunter
More from Gary Hunter:
- Affluenza Epidemic Rampant in Our Nation’s Criminal Justice System, June 9, 2017
- Denver Sheriff’s Deputy Accused of Ignoring and Instigating Prisoner Attacks, April 5, 2017
- California Health Care Facility Found Deficient and Unconstitutional, March 29, 2017
- Seventh Circuit: Jailhouse Lawyer’s Help No Reason to Deny Appointment of Counsel, Oct. 3, 2016
- Illinois: Exonerated Prisoner Calls $80,000 Award a Travesty, Retrial Ordered, Oct. 3, 2016
- Destined to Fail: the Negative Effect of Collateral Consequence Laws, Aug. 10, 2016
- Federal Guard Has Sex with Coworkers and Impregnated by Prisoner, Aug. 10, 2016
- Negligence not Grounds for Prosecution in Deaths of Wisconsin Prisoners, Aug. 5, 2016
- New York Based Ex-Offender Assistance Program Sues Landlord for Discrimination, Aug. 4, 2016
- Human Rights Report Reveals Inequities in U.S. Sentencing Practices, Aug. 3, 2016
More from these topics:
- New Jersey Governor’s Order Allows People with Prior Felony Convictions to Serve on Jury Duty, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, State Legislation, Restrictions, discrimination, Jury Selection.
- Texas Prisoner Declared Innocent 70 Years After Execution, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Death Penalty, False Confessions, Eyewitness Identification, Prosecutorial Misconduct.
- Minnesota Study Shows Disproportionate Rate of Health and Mental Problems for Recently Incarcerated, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Medical, Statistics/Trends, Mental Health, Health care.
- Federal Court Strikes Much of Virginia’s Felony Voting Restriction, Feb. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Restrictions, discrimination, Voting Rights, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute.
- The New York Prison System’s Culture of Cruelty and Impunity, Feb. 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death).
- How AI Integration Used by Law Enforcement Fails the Public, Feb. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, False Arrest, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of.
- Report on “Pay-to-Stay” Fees Makes Strong Case for Their Repeal, Jan. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Medical Expenses, Cost of Prison Systems, housing, Ability to Pay.
- Report Shows How Prison Gerrymanders Distort Democracy Across U.S., Jan. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Voting, Census, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Voting Rights.
- Hawaii Prison Warden Reinstated After Being Fired in 2014 for Sexual Harassment, Dec. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Supervisor-Staff Harassment, Guard Misconduct, Racial Discrimination, Employee Litigation.
- Ex-Wife of Minnesota DOC Commissioner Sentenced for Poisoning Attempt on Son, Dec. 1, 2025. Out of State Transfers, Sentencing, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Confessions and Statements of Defendant, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.

