African-American men spend an average of 20 percent more time in prison than white men for similar crimes, according to a new report by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
The study, released Tuesday, analyzed sentencing data for blacks and whites between 2008 and 2016, The Hill reports.
The commission's effort found that African-American men serve sentences that average 19.1 percent longer than those for white men.
Prior criminal history could not explain the disparity, the panel concluded.
"After controlling for a wide variety of sentencing factors, the commission found that black male offenders continued to receive longer sentences than similarly situated white male offenders, and that female offenders of all races received shorter sentences than white male offenders," the report said.
"The commission also found that prior violent crimes, as documented in an offender’s criminal history, do not significantly contribute to demographic differences in federal sentencing."
In October, senators introduced three bills targeting various federal sentencing guidelines for reform, according to news reports.
Legislation has been proposed by Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley, the Iowan who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, Orrin Hatch of Utah, and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois.
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