The Color of Injustice

Low-income people of color are disproportionately among those who most need to access public defense.

	African American	Latino/Hispanic	White
Percentage of Michigan population (2006)	14.3%	3.9%	81.2%
Percent below poverty level (2006)	29.9%	23.2%	10.3%
Michigan prison and jail incarceration rate (per 100,000 population, 2005, Sentencing Project)	2,262	397	412

Public defense reform is an urgent issue for people of color.

A U.S. Department of Justice survey showed that, nationally, 77 percent of African Americans and 73 percent of Latinos in state prisons were represented by public defense attorneys.
One in nine black men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars.
Latinos/Hispanics have a one in six chance of being confined in prison during their lifetimes.
Incarceration breaks families. In 1999, nine times as many African American children than white children had a parent in prison.