August 14,2002
Page A2
P olice /V ancouver
Magnitude of
Black Prison
Population Persists
Black males still imprisoned
more than whites or Hispanics
(AP) - New figures by the Jus
tice Department show that African
Americans are still far more likely
to be incarcerated than whites or
Hispanics.
For every 100,000 people in the
United States, 3,535 blacks were
locked up, compared with 462
whites and 1,177 Hispanics, the
department recently revealed.
The figures show that 1 in 10
black men between the ages o f 25
and 29 were incarcerated by 2002,
while only 2.9 percent of Hispanic
men and 1.2 percent of white men in
the same age group were in custody.
The Sentencing Project, a group
that supports alternatives to incar
ceration, says the black U.S. in
mate population is unprecedented.
“If black male inmates in local
jails are added, the proportion rises
to nearly one in seven,” said Marc
Mauer, Sentencing Project spokes
man.
One reason the number o f black
inmates continues to rise is the
governm ent's war against drugs.
Convictions for drug offenses ac
counted for 27 percent of the in
crease in black inmates, compared
with 7 percent for Hispanic inmates
and 15 percent for white inmates,
the report said.
States are more likely to lock up
people for violent offenses than
for drugs, the report said. But the
federal government is taking up
the slack, with drug crimes account
ing for 59 percent of the increase in
federal prison inmates — even as
the percentage of violent offend
ers dropped to 10 percent from 17
percent, the report said.
"W e’re still seeing the impact of
the drug war and mandatory sen
tencing,” Mauer said. “As long as
there is a commitment in the White
House and Capitol Hill, we’re not
goin g to see any ch a n g e .”
Authorities credited new electronic
roadside alert signs to aggressively
publicize kidnappings with helping
bring in tips that led to the rescue.
Security Camera Captures Suspects
Police hope someone can identify the couple in this series of
pictures taken from surveillance video.
Portland Police, in cooperation
with Crime Stoppers, are asking for
your help in identifying and appre
hending a couple responsible for
breaking into coin-boxes at laun
dry facilities in several southeast
Portland apartment complexes.
In two separate cases, both the
male and female were captured on
surveillance video.
While the amount o f money sto
len from the coin-boxes thus far is
difficult to determ ine, damage
alone to the c o in -b o x e s has
amounted to thousands o f dollars.
The male is described as white,
18 to 19-years of age, 5 feet 10
inches to 6 feet tall, with a medium
build and brown hair.
The female is described as white,
25 to 30-years of age, 5 feet 6 inches
to 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing
approximately 300 pounds, with
dark brown hair.
Crime Stoppers is offering a cash
reward of up to $ 1,000 for informa
tion, reported to Crime Stoppers,
which leads to an arrest in this
case, or any unsolved felony crime,
and you need not give your name.
Call Crime Stoppers at 503-823-
HELP.
Day
A traffic light tips toward
Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard and Skidmore after
a truck ran a red light and
crashed into a car and the
light's support pole Friday
afternoon. The street was
closed temporarily. No injuries
were reported.
M ark W ashington /
T he P ortland O bserver
photo by
Tonya Harding Awaits 10 Day Jail Term
Former Olympic skater tells judge her problem is alcohol
Tonya Harding was sentenced
to 10 days in jail Thursday for
drinking alcohol while on proba
tion.
The former Olympic figure
skater told a Clark County Judge
that her arrest for drunken driv
ing forced her to re-examine her
life and was the best thing that
could have happened to her.
“I’m grateful to the judge for
giving me this opportunity; I f i
nally found out what my problem
is: It’s alcohol,” Harding said after
the brief hearing. “I’m glad it hap
pened so no one gets hurt, I
don’t get hurt and I’m making
something right in my life for a
change.”
Harding is'scheduled to start
her sentence Tuesday, Aug. 20.
Her lawyer, Steven Thayer,
asked Judge Darvin Zimmerman
to let Harding do
hertime in isola
tio n . He p re
sented a letter
from a doctor
saying Harding
su ffe rs from
panic attacks.
T he ju d g e
took no action
on the matter.
Tonya Harding
It’s unclear if the
detention center
in Vancouver is equipped to shield
celebrities from other prisoners.
In April, Harding was behind
the wheel of her truck when it
veered off the road and crashed
into a ditch. Harding failed a field
sobriety test and her blood-alco
hol level was measured at 0.16 -
twice the legal limit in W ashing
ton.
The accident
happened when
H a rd in g had
le ss th a n a
month to go on
her tw o -y e a r
p ro b a tio n fo r
hitting a boy
frien d w ith a
hubcap. As part
of her probation,
she was not al
lowed to con
sume alcohol.
She acknow ledged violating
that condition when she pleaded
guilty Monday to drunken driving
and was ordered to enter a treat
ment program for alcoholics.
Zimmerman could have sen
tenced Harding to more than 5Vi
months in jail. Instead, he gave her
30 days, with 20 of them suspended
if she completes 12 hours of
classes for troubled young adults.
“I hope you’re sincere and
things work out better for you,”
the judge said.
After the hearing, Camas As
sistant City A ttorney Shawn
MacPherson said he was “satis
fied that justice was done.”
Harding’s attorney said the
sentence was fair and w ouldn’t
hinder the progress his client is
making in treatment.
“She’s gone 10 days, not 10
months,” he said.
The two-time U.S. champion
was convicted in 1994 of hinder
ing prosecution in a plot to inj ure
rival Nancy Kerrigan during the
U.S. championships in Detroit.
Harding also was banned for life
by the U.S. Figure Skating Asso
ciation.
Girl Who Faked Abduction Cited for Dope
( A P)— Sarah Roberts, the Lake
Oswego girl who admitted faking
her abduction, has been arrested
and cited for marijuana posses
sion.
Roberts, 16, was cited by Camas
police Aug. 5 on a charge of pos
sessing about 1.4 ounces of mari
juana and was booked into the
Clark County Juvenile Center in
Vancouver when authorities were
unable to reach her parents.
She was held until her parents
were contacted and made arrange
ments to pick her up.
Roberts was in a Jeep driven by
a Cam as woman when police
stopped them, noting that the head
lights were out, said Pearce.
The driver, M egan Brooke
Casey, 18, had a suspended O r
egon license. Camas Police Capt.
Paul Pearce said a search turned up
the marijuana.
“Both denied that the marijuana
was theirs,” Pearce said. “But they
both ad m itte d th at th ey had
smoked marijuana earlier in the
vehicle.”
Clackamas County has not said
if it will file charges against Rob
erts in the faked abduction from ’
Tryon Creek State Park the evening
of July 21. The ensuing search,
which cost an estimated $50,000,
wasn’ t called off until the next night,
when she called her parents from
Seattle.
Roberts admitted she had staged
the kidnapping.
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