The Senate move shows the split among Republicans on the issue. Just last week, the Iowa House, which, like the Senate, is controlled by Republicans, passed the proposed amendment on a 95-2 vote. Reynolds, a Republican, hailed the move as a "strong bipartisan vote" and "a victory for Iowans who deserve a second chance." [emphasis added]
But [white, blond, 57-year-old suburbanite Brad] Zaun, R-Urbandale, said he had told Reynolds on Thursday that the Senate effort would be "an uphill climb" hampered by the lack of a second bill to clarify what it would mean for felons to have completed their sentences.
The GOP holds a 32-18 edge in the Iowa State Senate. Women hold 5 of those seats. And as far as I can tell, all 32 are white.
Although only 3.1 percent of Iowa's population is African-American, 25.8 percent of the state's prison inmates are black, according to 2014 statistics in The Sentencing Project's study.
The 2016 imprisonment rate
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