Sanders: "Aren't most of the people who sell the drugs African American?"

[lapucelle]

103. "Even confronted with figures and data to the contrary, Sanders appeared to have still struggled

to grasp that he had made an error, the two people present said."

Vermont’s Criminal Justice System: A Series Unveiling Challenges & Practices

Vermont has one of the worst track records when it comes to the criminal justice system. According to Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform (VCJR) white people are equally as likely to be involved with drugs as black people are, yet, "on average, black and brown people are incarcerated in Vermont state prisons at a rate 5.1 times higher the imprisonment of whites. Vermont has a higher rate of incarceration of black and brown men than any other state. 1 in 14 black and brown men in the state of Vermont are incarcerated.'"

"Drug laws exist to police people of color," said Joanna Colwell, a community activist. "That is a national issue, though, not just a Vermont issue. It’s a double whammy: the law itself is racist and then you have those racist laws implemented in a way that is even more unfair to people of color."

According to the 2010 census, while only 1.1 percent of Vermont’s population is black, blacks make up 10.7 percent of the Vermont prison population.

https://middleburycampus.com/37955/local/vermonts-criminal-justice-system-a-series-unveiling-challenges-practices/