Thread by @DanWilliams303

Attention #Boulder - a study just released by the Boulder DA's office and @verainstitute confirms that Boulder's criminal justice system is far more racist against Black and Brown people than most other states, and even for Colorado, we're far worse than the state avg. 1/8

Here's data, for example, on Boulder's Latino rates of imprisonment compared to Boulder whites. "If Boulder County were a state it would rank 4th in the nation for" imprisonment disparities between whites and Latinos. 2/8

It gets worse. Boulder's criminal justice system is even more discriminatory toward Black people. A Black person in Boulder is about five times more likely to be prosecuted by the Boulder DA than a white person. 3/8

You can thank both the Boulder DA's office and the local police departments including BPD for that. This starts with who is cited/arrested by the cops and continues through who is prosecuted by the DA and then what plea deals, convictions, and sentencing outcomes occur. 4/8

The Boulder DA's own data show at every step of the way, Boulder prosecutors over-prosecute Black and Brown people compared to their share of the population. 5/8

The full presentation is here: verainstitute.zoom.us/rec/play/JdYqK…
6/8

I appreciate @DADoughertyCO for shining the light on just how racist his office is in terms of prosecution. That was an important and courageous first step. But let's be clear - what matters most is what he does now. 7/8

As the leader of one of the most racist DA's offices in the country, @DADoughertyCO inherited a despicable legacy. We'll hold him accountable not for what he says about these disparities, but what he does to dismantle this racist legacy now that the truth is out.
8/8

I'm told @DADoughertyCO is taking steps to try to improve things. The study data went til 2019, and it will be critical to see from newer data if that's working. Here's the slide from the presentation on the changes. Shout out to @ElainaShively for the great diversion work. 9/8