Maurice Carter Day: A time to consider racism. Right here!

Just what the heck is “Maurice Carter Day?” 

Well, I and the team at HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS feel that, on July 24, we should honor the memory of Maurice…the guy who thought up the idea for HFP's existence. 

Maurice, an indigent Black man from Gary, Indiana, was wrongly arrested, convicted and sentenced to life behind bars in Michigan’s Berrien County back in the 70s. I met him in the 90s, and for the next decade we fought for his exoneration and freedom. We never got the exoneration, but he was released on July 24, 2004 for medical reasons after serving 29 years. He died three months later. 

But, we must do more than honor the memory of this kind and gentle man. I think it’s time to focus on racism, especially in our justice (or non-justice) system. I know, I know…racism is rife in the deep south, right? We live in the north. 

Let me share a few figures with you…stats that come, not from the deep south, but from right here in Pure Michigan. 

- Multiple reports and studies indicate the presence of racial disparities in Michigan's criminal justice system, particularly concerning arrests. For example, African Americans are more likely to be stopped and searched than would be expected based on their population representation. An independent study commissioned by the Michigan State Police (MSP) found racial and ethnic disparities in the frequency and outcomes of traffic stops conducted by troopers. Racial disparities also extend to warrant requests and charges, with people of color being overrepresented in police warrant requests and facing charges with longer maximum sentences. 

-More than half of Michigan's prison population is Black, and this disparity is even more pronounced among those serving longer sentences and those who were young at the time of their offense. Yet, the Black population in Michigan is only slightly more than 14%.  

-Black women are incarcerated at a rate 1.6 times higher than white women. A significant proportion of women serving long-term sentences are Black, with half of those serving life sentences being Black. Black women make up half of the imprisoned women and 46% of women serving life sentences in Michigan. 

All of this, and we haven’t even touched the topic of wrongful convictions. 

- Black Americans are seven times more likely than white Americans to be falsely convicted of serious crimes, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. 

-More than 1,000 innocent men and women are housed in Michigan prisons, according to conservative estimates. 

Perhaps author Angela Davis sums it up best, as I conclude this Maurice Carter Day diatribe: “Prison relieves us of the responsibility of seriously engaging with the problems of our society, especially those produced by racism…”

In Christ there is no east or west,

In him no south or north,

But one great fellowship of love

Thru'out the whole wide Earth.


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