A new report issued on Wednesday comes to some startling conclusions about the fairness of the country's criminal justice system. Among the high number of inmates in the US, are a disproportionate number of African American men and the new report argues that this number could grow. The analysis was released by the Sentencing Project, an advocacy group based in Washington DC, and contends police strategies targeting black men and a pattern of harsher sentencing for minorities means that a black male born today has a one in three chance of ending up in prison. It's a statistic that comes as no surprise to James MacArthur, the well-known Baltimore City blogger who reports on crime. "There's a much greater chance of a non-black getting probation, getting a warning at the police level," MacArthur said. Last year he broadcasted his confrontation with police after a technical violation of probation led to a warrant for his arrest. MacArthur sat in jail for 6 months with no bail awaiting trial before he ultimately pled guilty to a reduced charge. It's an experience that he says shows the justice system needs reform. "There's a pretty good chance you will take a guilty plea if it guarantees your freedom," he said. Delegate Curt Anderson serves on a state commission that tries to create equal sentencing guidelines for criminals of all color. Hes alarmed by the projection that one in three black males in America will wind up behind bars and says the change needs to start at home and in school not just in our courts. "Part of the problem is that young black males don't graduate high school, they get in trouble," Anderson said. According to the report there were 159,520 serving life sentences as of 2012, an 11.8% rise since 2008. Nearly half of lifers are African Americans and one in six are Latino, the report states.

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A new report issued on Wednesday comes to some startling conclusions about the fairness of the country's criminal justice system. Among the high number of inmates in the US, are a disproportionate number of African American men and the new report argues that this number could grow. The analysis was released by the Sentencing Project, an advocacy group based in Washington DC, and contends police strategies targeting black men and a pattern of harsher sentencing for minorities means that a black male born today has a one in three chance of ending up in prison. It's a statistic that comes as no surprise to James MacArthur, the well-known Baltimore City blogger who reports on crime. "There's a much greater chance of a non-black getting probation, getting a warning at the police level," MacArthur said. Last year he broadcasted his confrontation with police after a technical violation of probation led to a warrant for his arrest. MacArthur sat in jail for 6 months with no bail awaiting trial before he ultimately pled guilty to a reduced charge. It's an experience that he says shows the justice system needs reform. "There's a pretty good chance you will take a guilty plea if it guarantees your freedom," he said. Delegate Curt Anderson serves on a state commission that tries to create equal sentencing guidelines for criminals of all color. Hes alarmed by the projection that one in three black males in America will wind up behind bars and says the change needs to start at home and in school not just in our courts. "Part of the problem is that young black males don't graduate high school, they get in trouble," Anderson said. According to the report there were 159,520 serving life sentences as of 2012, an 11.8% rise since 2008. Nearly half of lifers are African Americans and one in six are Latino, the report states.

Read More at: http://foxbaltimore.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/study-says-one-three-black-males-may-end-up-prison-23037.shtml#.UnEgTRBCklR