Public asks committee to address all white juries, bail and more
A former correction officer said fixing the criminal justice system starts with providing a high school and college education to inmates in prison.
An assistant public defender called for more to be done to ensure minorities are represented on juries in Delaware.
And, a psychologist said those who work in the criminal justice system need to be trained to detect their own unconscious biases about race.
These were just some of the dozens of solutions the community in Wilmington offered Tuesday night at the third of four public comment sessions for the Access to Justice Commission's Committee on Fairness in the Criminal Justice System.
The committee, convened by Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo E. Strine Jr., has been looking for ways to reduce racial disparities and increase fairness at all levels of the criminal justice system, ranging from arrests and bail hearings to sentencing decisions and re-entry after prison.
Currently, blacks make up about 56 percent of inmates in Delaware, even though only 22 percent of the state's population is black. The juvenile system sees even greater disparities – about 76 percent of incarcerated youth are black.
In an auditorium at Howard High School, Pastor Louis McDuffy started the public comment session by saying reducing crime starts with prompting juries to look at the African-American community differently.
The issue of juries was especially timely as the public hearing took place just hours after a jury of 12 Kent County residents acquitted a white Dover police officer who was caught on dashboard camera video kicking a black suspect in the head in 2013. The video's release launched Delaware into the national debate on law enforcement's use of excessive force against people who are black.
Kevin O'Connell, an assistant public defender, told the committee Tuesday night that minorities are frequently underrepresented on juries in Delaware.
"When I pick a jury ... I don't usually see 22 percent people of color," he said. "That is because the pool we select people from is registered voters and motor vehicle [drivers]."
"Why don't we just open it to anyone who files a state or federal tax return?" he asked.
O'Connell went on to say more African-Americans could be represented on juries if the state required employers to pay wages for up to five days of jury service, thus avoiding the hardship jury it can sometimes cause people who are employed.
Finally, O'Connell said peremptory challenges, whereby attorneys are allowed to reject a certain number of potential jurors without stating a reason, should be eliminated.
"They are a way of infecting the system with bias," he said.
Other community members who stepped up to the microphone and shared their solutions said ending Delaware's death penalty, supporting the expungements of juveniles criminal records and eliminating bail could help fix the system.
Richard Morse, the legal director for Delaware's American Civil Liberties Union, asked the commission to do everything it can to "end Delaware's current unfair bail system."
The News Journal last month analyzed the current system in which defendants awaiting trial in Delaware prisons skyrocketed from 300 in 1983 to 1,339 in 2014. Advocates for reform say the system is unfair to poor defendants who cannot pay even a small amount, while defendants with means are released on far more serious charges.
"It disrupts people's lives; it wastes taxpayer money; it discriminates against poor people; and it doesn't make us safer," Morse said. "Any look at the bail system needs to start with the basic principle that every American is innocent until proven guilty."
Christina Brigandi, a Delaware bail bondsman, fired back later in the night, saying bondsman take responsibility for the defendants they serve.
"This is not about race, it's about a crime being committed," she said. "We as bail bondsman take responsibility for them."
She questioned whether pre-trial services, which monitor defendants who are released into the community while awaiting trial, can properly supervise defendants and ensure they return to court.
"The bail system isn't broken," she said. "It's just not used properly. So if the crime warrants no bail, issue no bail."
Bartholomew J. Dalton, a Wilmington lawyer and the committee's co-chair, said there is a consensus among the committee on tackling the issue of bail and addressing implicit biases within the system.
Others at the hearing raised personal stories of the impact three strikes laws and mandatory minimum sentences have had on their loved ones. For example, the family of Fenel Baine told the commission that Baine is serving 91 years in prison for murder while his co-defendant got only a fraction of that time.
"I have concerns with a mandatory sentence being imposed on a person for a crime and him getting the same amount of time as someone who commits multiple crimes and even more heinous crimes," said Linda Benson-Fleming about another case. "Each case should be a case-by-case basis. It should be addressed according to a persons record and circumstances."
The fourth and final public comment session is scheduled for 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at William Henry Middle School, 65 Carver Road in Dover.
Those interested in offering comment at the public forums can pre-register at courts.delaware.gov/supreme/accessform.stm. Same day registration also will be available at each location. Comments will be limited to five minutes.
Written comments can be submitted through Dec. 18.