When Numbers Lie: Prisoners o f the Census in New York I RaceWire

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When N um be r s Lie: Pr isoners of the Census in N e w Yor k

Across Ne w Yo rk C it y, t e n s o fthousands o f Bla ck a n d L a t in o re sid e n t shave gone m issin g . Yo u ' ll fin d t h e mlanguishing beh ind b a rs in u p sta tetowns, wh e re t h e y're p u n ish e d b y b e in grobbed o f t h e ir po ten t ia l a s in co m e -earners, p a re n ts and co m m u n it ymembers. An d in t h e 2 0 1 0 ce n su s,they'll l ike ly d isa p p e a r once aga in—onpaper.

Albany is cu rre n t ly we igh ing a p ro p o sa lto ch a n g e t h e w a y t h e 2 0 1 0 ce n su scounts a re we ighed f o r peop leincarcerated in t o wn s f a r a w a y f ro mthe ir o rig ina l co m m u n it ie s. Re f o rmadvocates p o in t o u t tha t , in a d d it io n t obeing t o rn f ro m t h e ir f a m ilie s a n dneighborhoods, in m a t e s a re ro u t in e lyexploited in a p o lit ica l n u m b e rs g a m eknown a s "p riso n -b a se dge rrym ande ring ."

Under cu rre n t sta te ru le s, in m a te s—in clu d in g t h o se se rvin g re la t ive ly sh o rt sentences, w h o w il l g o h o m eeventually—can b e counted in t h e p o p u la t io n s o f t he t o w n s o f t h e ir f a cilit ie s. I n a n ee rie re p rise o f t h e3/5 com prom ise , t h e sta te e sse n t ia lly d e p r ive s t h e m o f the b a sic en t it lem en ts o f cit ize n sh ip b y lo ckin gthem up , a n d t h e n u se s t h e ir bod ies t o a r t ificia lly in fla t e p o p u la t io n st a t ist ics.

This enab les huge d isto rt io n s in t h e d ist r ib u t io n o f p o lit ica l p o w e r and rep resen ta t ion in st a t e le g isla t ived ist rict s. Acco rd in g t o t h e Priso n Po licy I n it ia t ive , t h e q u ie t t h e f t o f these "p riso n e rs o f t h e ce n su s"further weakens t h e p o lit ica l st re n g t h o f in m a te s' u rb a n co m m u n it ie s, and g ive s e ve n m o re u n d u einfluence t o la rg e ly wh it e upsta te co u n t ie s (w h ich , o f cou rse , h a ve a st a ke in keep ing t h e ir p riso n s o p e nto d r ive t h e lo ca l e co n o m y).

Some coun t ies in Ne w Yo rk and se ve ra l o t h e r sta tes re ca lcu la te t h e ir popu la t ion co u n t s t o e xclu d einmates, b u t o the rs d o n o t . I n 2 0 0 4 , t h e a rb it ra ry d iscre p a n cie s in t h e p rocess p rom p ted so m e re sid e n t sof Franklin Co u n ty t o f o rm a lly co m p la in in a le t t e r t o t h e Census Bu reau in 2 0 0 4 t h a t ne ighbo ring St .Lawrence Coun ty had u n f a ir ly ske we d i t s vo t in g clo u t :

[St. Lawrence County] legislators admit that the prisoners have no stake in issues of countytaxation or policy making. Most critically, there was a large public effort in the county toattempt to repeal the most recent redistricting legislation precisely because large externalpopulations were included making the votes of 8 residents near the prisons worth as muchas 10 residents elsewhere in the county.

The flip sid e o f t h is schem e is t h e depopu la t ion and d ise n f ra n ch ise m e n t o f the p o o r Bla ck a n d L a t in ocommunit ies t h a t h a ve lo st yo u n g m e n a n d w o m e n t o t h e cr im in a l ju st ice syst e m --o f t e n f o r n o n vio le n tdrug-re la ted o f fenses t h a n ks t o m a n d a t o ry-se n t e n cin g la w s. Ne w Yo rk recen t ly m o ve d t o lo o se n i t ssentencing p o licie s t o co rre ct so m e o f t he g ro ss in e q u it ie s in t h e syst e m .

Lawmakers and co m m u n it y g ro u p s a re t ryin g t o b r in g so m e sa n it y t o t h e ce n su s. Se n a t o r Er ic T .chneiderman and Asse m b lym a n Ha ke e m Je f f rie s h a ve in t roduced a b il l t o p re ve n t p riso n p o p u la t io n -Ag ing wh e n d ra win g le g isla t ive d ist r ict s. Th e le g isla t io n , w h ich wo u ld b e t h e first o f it s kin d in t h e

nation i f enacted, wo u ld m anda te t h a t in ca rce ra te d peop le b e coun ted in t h e ir home co m m u n it ie s, n o t

http://www.racewire.org/archives/2010/02/when_numbers_lie_prisoners_of_the_census_in_new_york.html

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When Numbers Lie: Prisoners o f the Census in New York I RaceWire 2 / 2 / 1 0 10:39 AM

the p riso n t o wn s t h a t a re h o ld in g t h e m .

In a n announcement o f the n e w le g isla t io n , Asse m b lym a n Je f f ries sa id :

The p riso n syst e m d e h u m a n ize s peop le in co u n t le ss wa ys, re st rict in g t h e ir f reedom o f m o ve m e n t andcutt ing o f f t h e ir access t o t h e b a llo t . Th o u g h n o sin g le le g isla t ive m easu re cou ld re so lve t h e m a n yin just ices wro u g h t b y t h e cr im in a l ju st ice syst e m , t h is sim p le t we a k in t h e census ca n h e lp p re ve n tcounties f ro m u sin g in ca rce ra te d peop le t o p ro p u p t h e st ru ct u re o f inequ it y t h a t ke e p s t h e m b e h in dbars.

Image: Sing Sing prison (NYS Dept of Correctional Services)

Posted a t 6:25 PM, Feb 01, 2010 in Civil Rights I Criminal Justice I Demographics I Elections I Permalink I 0 Commentsand 2 Reactions

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• When Numbers Lie: Prisoners of the Census in New York by Michelle Chen (RaceWire)Flag(Ec ( R e p l y ) ( R e p ly)

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This bill is necessary to break the back of the prison industrial complex where certaincommunities benefit from the criminalization of young people who disproportionally comefrom low-income neighborhoods across the state. Prison-based gerrymandering is unfair,unethical and unconstitutional, and we will not rest until the process is changed.

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- From twitter via 13ackType• Michelle Chen's article in Ex)racialjustice abt the criminal justice system. http://biLly/cCsmrE

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