Is the percentage of Black inmates in Wisconsin seven times higher than the percentage of Black citizens in the state?

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October 25, 2022

By Jacob Alabab-Moser, Wisconsin Watch

Wisconsin incarcerates Black people at nearly 12 times the rate of white people, according to a new report by The Sentencing Project.(Courtesy of The Sentencing Project)

Yes.

Black people comprised 42% of incarcerated individuals in Wisconsin state and federal correctional facilities in 2020, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. In comparison, Black people made up 6% Of Wisconsin’s overall population in the 2020 Census. Reports from earlier years using official data show similar findings.

According to an analysis by The Sentencing Project, Wisconsin has the highest Black imprisonment rate in the nation. One in 36 Black adults in the state is in state prison, compared to one in 81 Black adults nationally.

A University of Wisconsin study examined how the 53206 ZIP code in Milwaukee has a particularly high rate of Black male incarceration, with 42% of all Black men there between the ages of 25 and 34 in the state corrections system or under active community supervision in 2013.

Wisconsin Watch includes sources for these stats.

The high percentage of Black men in prison, where they can further experience harm, is one push for prison reform.

Our breaking news page includes more stories about Black America.

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