End a legacy of overcharging & excessive sentences

Overcharging

Champaign County has a history of charging people, especially poor people and people of color, with the maximum offense for a crime. Of all cases filed in our county, we charge 60% as felonies. In contrast, the state average is about 30%. Champaign County, on average, sends 500 people to prison every year.

Police and the state's attorney's office has wide discretion in how they charge - whether they charge a crime under a city offense, resulting in a fine, a criminal misdemeanor, often resulting in a fine, community service, and probation, or a felony, which can carry a prison sentence. Felony charges are supposed to be a response to behaviors that are a danger to society. But locally, you can be charged with a felony for giving a nickname to an officer, stealing a bottle of aspirin, or even talking back.

In conversations with a local Chief of Police, we were told that police recommend charges to the State's Attorney based on the severity of the crime, whether there was a victim, and character judgments. Character judgments include: is this person a good person in the wrong location at the wrong time, and does the officer think the person is "going places" with his or her life. The possibilities for discrimination in assessing one's character are endless.

Part of the strategy of overcharging is to help with efficiency, at the expense of justice. The scenario often goes like this: Joe Public stopped by police for some petty crime he did or did not do. Joe is charged to the highest extend permitted and faces prison time. Joe is assigned a public defender who has a case load three times what they can reasonably handle. Joe is urged to take a crummy plea bargain in return for a lesser charge. If Joe asserts his innocence, or disagrees with the plea bargain, the alternative he faces is hard time in the penitentary. In the crap shoot that our justice system has become, innocent people have better luck pleading guilty.

The Misuse of Obstruction of Justice Charges

Another form of abusive and excessive charging used locally is “obstruction of justice” for giving a wrong name, nick name, or even middle name. Giving the wrong name to a police officer has traditionally been treated as a misdemeanor. Felony obstruction of justice has usually been considered interfering with or derailing police work, or lying to the police concerning the facts of a crime already being investigated.

In the context of aggressive policing, unwarranted searches, and the poor relations between the black community and the police; giving a wrong name is primarily an avoidance behavior- not the concealment of a serious crime. Many citizens are resistent to a police tactic called "mapping" or "tracking". Police will often stop pedestrians or motorists, without probable cause a crime is being committed, to learn of their identity, address, and their occupation for documenting who is who in a given neighborhood. Obstruction of Justice charges appears as a punishment for non-cooperation with these surveillance tactics.

Local police and the courts used the felony charge against Terrell Layfield, an black man who one of the three officially acknowledged suicides in Champaign County Jail in the last two years. Layfield was sentenced to 5 ½ years in prison for giving the officer the wrong name at the time of the arrest. Facing such a long sentence for a minor crime, Layfield lost hope and took his life.

More resources:

The Sentencing Project
A nationally recognized source of criminal justice policy analysis, data, and program information dedicated to reducing reliance on incarceration and increased use of more effective and humane alternatives to deal with crime.



Priorities for Justice About Us Meetings are every Saturday at 4 PM in the Independent Media Center in the downtown Urbana post office building.		End a legacy of overcharging & excessive sentences Overcharging Champaign County has a history of charging people, especially poor people and people of color, with the maximum offense for a crime. Of all cases filed in our county, we charge 60% as felonies. In contrast, the state average is about 30%. Champaign County, on average, sends 500 people to prison every year. Police and the state's attorney's office has wide discretion in how they charge - whether they charge a crime under a city offense, resulting in a fine, a criminal misdemeanor, often resulting in a fine, community service, and probation, or a felony, which can carry a prison sentence. Felony charges are supposed to be a response to behaviors that are a danger to society. But locally, you can be charged with a felony for giving a nickname to an officer, stealing a bottle of aspirin, or even talking back. In conversations with a local Chief of Police, we were told that police recommend charges to the State's Attorney based on the severity of the crime, whether there was a victim, and character judgments. Character judgments include: is this person a good person in the wrong location at the wrong time, and does the officer think the person is "going places" with his or her life. The possibilities for discrimination in assessing one's character are endless. Part of the strategy of overcharging is to help with efficiency, at the expense of justice. The scenario often goes like this: Joe Public stopped by police for some petty crime he did or did not do. Joe is charged to the highest extend permitted and faces prison time. Joe is assigned a public defender who has a case load three times what they can reasonably handle. Joe is urged to take a crummy plea bargain in return for a lesser charge. If Joe asserts his innocence, or disagrees with the plea bargain, the alternative he faces is hard time in the penitentary. In the crap shoot that our justice system has become, innocent people have better luck pleading guilty. The Misuse of Obstruction of Justice Charges Another form of abusive and excessive charging used locally is “obstruction of justice” for giving a wrong name, nick name, or even middle name. Giving the wrong name to a police officer has traditionally been treated as a misdemeanor. Felony obstruction of justice has usually been considered interfering with or derailing police work, or lying to the police concerning the facts of a crime already being investigated. In the context of aggressive policing, unwarranted searches, and the poor relations between the black community and the police; giving a wrong name is primarily an avoidance behavior- not the concealment of a serious crime. Many citizens are resistent to a police tactic called "mapping" or "tracking". Police will often stop pedestrians or motorists, without probable cause a crime is being committed, to learn of their identity, address, and their occupation for documenting who is who in a given neighborhood. Obstruction of Justice charges appears as a punishment for non-cooperation with these surveillance tactics. Local police and the courts used the felony charge against Terrell Layfield, an black man who one of the three officially acknowledged suicides in Champaign County Jail in the last two years. Layfield was sentenced to 5 ½ years in prison for giving the officer the wrong name at the time of the arrest. Facing such a long sentence for a minor crime, Layfield lost hope and took his life. More resources: The Sentencing Project A nationally recognized source of criminal justice policy analysis, data, and program information dedicated to reducing reliance on incarceration and increased use of more effective and humane alternatives to deal with crime.