Friday, April 5, 2019

Connecting the dots in the Iowa State Senate


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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