U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

Unequal Justice: African Americans in the Virginia Criminal Justice System

Introduction

The Virginia Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights began receiving allegations that African American males are more likely than others to face arrest because police target them as a group and that they receive harsher prison sentences because of racial bias by prosecutors and judges. The infamous Hampton 4 episode of 1993 brought a highly publicized trial to the forefront that became a dividing line for community opinion about whether African Americans were mistreated in the justice system.

On Valentine's Day in 1993, a verbal altercation among patrons became a brawl at a popular bowling alley in Hampton, Virginia.[1] There were three injuries resulting from the quarrel: a white male's arm was broken, a white female's thumb was broken, and another white female suffered a head laceration.[2] Responding to the complaints by the injured whites, Hampton police arrested only four African American youths,[3] who later asserted that they were provoked by a racial epithet or fighting words.[4] Supporters of the arrested youth referred to them as The Hampton 4. [5] Among the group was Allen Iverson, then a 16-year-old high school basketball star.[6] Later that year, Allen Iverson was tried as an adult, convicted of maiming by mob, and sentenced to 20 years in prison (15 years suspended).[7] A group called SWIS, an acronym for Michael Simmons, Samuel Wynn, Allen Iverson, and Melvin Stephens (Hampton 4), was largely responsible for turning the case into a cause c l bre.[8] National media, including Sports Illustrated magazine, the Washington Post and USA Today newspapers, and network television news anchor Tom Brokaw, covered the promising athletic career of Allen Iverson that appeared to be derailed by prison.[9] African Americans seemed to believe that Iverson was railroaded to jail because his accusers were white, a vestige of Old South racism.[10]

Amid the Hampton 4 controversy, the Virginia branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) asked the Commission to look into allegations that justice was miscarried in the case.[11] A team of three staff persons was dispatched to monitor and investigate the allegations.[12] The resulting staff memorandum summarized allegations made by community representatives and described unsettling issues in need of further investigation.[13] After various legal developments, the Hampton 4 were released and carried on with their lives.[14] Iverson was freed from jail in December 1993, after an extraordinary grant of conditional clemency by Governor Douglas Wilder, who became convinced that Iverson was treated unfairly.[15] Iverson's legal battle ended in 1995 when the appellate court overturned the conviction, returned the case to local prosecutors, and prosecutors declared nol pros[16] or discontinuance of prosecution.[17]

The Committee continued to receive complaints from African Americans about the justice system although the Hampton 4 controversy subsided. In response to complaints, the Committee held factfinding meetings in Hampton on March 6, and Newport News on March 7, 1997. The 2-day meeting included 22 invited speakers who addressed issues of African Americans in the justice system.

In addition to the invited panelists, the Committee also set aside 2 evening hours each day for community comment on civil rights concerns. Because of an unexpectedly large number of persons wanting to participate in the community comment session, the Committee used nearly twice the 4 hours allotted for community input. A total of 37 persons spoke or lodged complaints about the justice system, equal opportunity in education and employment, environmental justice, free speech, land use and property tax, pay raises for elected city officials, voting rights, and credit discrimination against African American farmers. About half of the community speakers prepared written statements supported by copies of court filings, complaint letters to government agencies or civil rights organizations, and news clippings. Although the span of topics that citizens presented covered important issues, this report treats only those that apply to the administration of justice.

Based on the information gathered at the public meetings and supplemented by followup research, the report is organized into three chapters and concludes with findings and recommendations. The first chapter, Citizen Complaints, summarizes problems that the Committee heard under four topical subheadings and remarks by special invited guests, such as U.S. Representative Robert C. Bobby Scott, Jr. (D-Va., 3rd  Dist.). Chapter two, Racial Overrepresentation, covers the treatment of African Americans in arrests and sentencing, while chapter three, Law Enforcement Treatment of African Americans, covers responses by prosecutors and police officers to citizen complaints.