Racial inequality over long US prison sentences growing, report finds

Black Americans increasingly more likely to receive long prison sentences than white Americans, thinktank analysis suggests

The gap between Black and white Americans serving time in state prison for long prison sentences is growing, a new analysis of state data shows.

Between 2005 and 2019, the share of Black Americans newly sentenced to state prison for more than 10 years grew from about 13% in 2005 to 19% in 2019. By comparison, during that same period, white Americans taken to state prison for long sentences grew from about 12% to 15%, according to a new report by the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan thinktank.