Report: Wide racial disparity in New York prison discipline
Black and Hispanic people incarcerated in New York state prisons are more likely than white people to face further punishment once they wind up behind bars, according to a state inspector general report released Thursday.
A Black person behind bars in New York from 2015 to 2020 was more than 22% more likely to get cited for misbehavior than a white person, according to the report, which looked at misbehavior reports that were ultimately dismissed. At the same time, a Hispanic person behind bars was over 12% more likely.
Inspector General Lucy Lang said the state’s corrections department has failed to come up with strategies to eliminate the racial disparities for years. Her report was sparked by a 2016 investigation by The New York Times that found rampant racial epithets and disparate disciplinary treatment against the largely Black and Hispanic prisoner population.