Black Americans Incarcerated at Nearly Five Times Rate of White Americans

A study published Wednesday by the Sentencing Project found “staggering disproportionalities” between incarceration rates of white people and more diverse community groups.

The study showed that Black Americans were incarcerated in state prisons at nearly five times the rate of white people. Meanwhile, Latino people were imprisoned at 1.3 times the rate of non-Latino white people.

Specifically, the study found that in 12 states, many of which were in the south, over half of the prison population was Black.

In Wisconsin, where the rates of imprisonment of Black people are higher than anywhere else in the country, 1 of every 36 Black Wisconsin citizens is in prison.

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