News Sources: Disparities in Prison Sentences

What happens when lawmakers dictate that similar crimes should have differing penalties, or when sentences vary from courtroom to courtroom? The Supreme Court wrestled with these questions Tuesday in a pair of drug cases that included one dealing with a law that calls for tougher punishment for possession and distribution of crack cocaine than the powdered variety. The crack-powder disparity also has a strong racial dimension because the vast majority of crack offenders are black. Reporters looking for experts to interview on this topic can find them online at the collegenews.org database of news sources and subject matter experts from America's leading liberal arts colleges, including (click on names for contact information):

Robert McNamara - Assistant Professor of Sociology, Furman University - McNamara's research focuses on crime prevention, policing, drug use and prostitution. He is the author of Beating the Odds: Crime, Poverty, and Life in the Inner City, an autobiographical account of growing up in New Haven, CT.

James O'Kane - Professor of Sociology, Drew University - O'Kane focuses on issues of crime, ethnicity and urban studies. He is an expert on patterns of urban crime, especially murder. His book, The Crooked Ladder, deals with gangsters, ethnicity and the American Dream.

Lief Carter - McHugh Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Colorado College - Carter's areas of expertise include constitutional law, legal theory, courts and politics, administrative law and politics, contemporary Supreme Court, and religion and law. He is the author of five books, including Contemporary Constitutional Lawmaking: The Supreme Court and the Art of Politics and The Limits of Order.

News Sources: 'Jena 6' Conviction Overturned

A state appeals court in Louisiana tossed out the conviction against one of six African-American teenagers charged in an attack on a white student. The case brought widespread criticism that blacks were being treated more harshly than whites, after racial confrontations and fights at their school. Reporters looking for experts to interview on this topic can find them online at the collegenews.org database of news sources and subject matter experts from America's leading liberal arts colleges, including (click on names for contact information):

Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum - President, Spelman College - Tatum is a nationally recognized race relations expert, and the author of Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race.

Sarah Willie - Associate Professor, Swarthmore College - Willie is the author of the 2003 book Acting Black and an expert on social inequality in the U.S. She is Associate Provost and past chair of Swarthmore’s Black Studies Program. She teaches courses on social theory, sociology through literature, and racial dynamics in the U.S.

Alan W. McEvoy - Professor of Sociology, Wittenberg University - An authority on violence and victimization, Wittenberg has authored several books, appeared on national television and lectured extensively to educators and human service workers. He is Senior Editor of the School Intervention Report and president of the Safe Schools Coalition. The National Gang Crime Research Center has presented its highest award to him.