THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 15, 1994 TAG: 9409140443
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Special Report
SERIES: Facing the Fear: Paying the Price
This series is a combined project of The Associated Press, the Daily
Press of Newport News, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Roanoke Times
& World-News, and The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star.
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
On Virginia's Death Row, 26 inmates are white; 26 black and 2 are of other races.
About two in 10 Virginians are black, yet 60 percent of the state's prisoners are black.
Blacks live in far greater danger, according to an annual Justice Department survey of crime victims. Chances of becoming a victim of violent crime are almost twice as high for black males as white males, and almost three times as high for black males as white females. Black females become victims at a slightly higher rate than white males.
Nationally about 1.5 million people, most of them men, are behind bars.
To cope with current overcrowding and a projected continued increase in prisoners, the federal government plans to build 30 new federal prisons with 44,000 beds.
KEYWORDS: PAROLE VIRGINIA SERIES STATISTICS by CNB