蜜桃传媒

That鈥檚 what Isiah Kinloch told听The听Greenville News听during its听听in South Carolina.

Kinloch fought off a home intruder, sustaining head injuries that put him in the hospital. He called 911, and when North Charleston police arrived at his apartment, they found an ounce of marijuana, charged him with possession with intent to distribute, and seized the $1,800 in cash they found in his apartment.

The police were allowed to do that because of something called听, which empowers law enforcement agencies to seize cash or other assets based on the suspicion that they鈥檙e somehow connected to criminal activity. In many states, agencies are allowed to keep any money or other property they confiscate, creating an incentive for abuse.

When the charges against Kinloch were dropped, police didn鈥檛 give him his money back. Unable to pay rent, he was eventually forced to move out of his apartment.

鈥淲e鈥檝e heard so many awful stories,鈥� Hilary Shelton, director of the NAACP鈥檚 Washington bureau, told听The Greenville News. 鈥淭hey say, 鈥極h yeah, we want to make sure that resources used for the trafficking of drugs are stopped鈥� 鈥� but many of the people they are taking money from are not drug traffickers or even users.鈥�

In fact, civil asset forfeiture gives law enforcement the power to seize property from people even if they aren鈥檛 charged with a crime 鈥斕齛nd in South Carolina, that power is听听like Kinloch.

Examining every court case that involved civil asset forfeiture in the state over a two-year period,听The Greenville News听found that black men made up 65 percent of the people who had property seized, though they鈥檙e just 13 percent of the population.

If you鈥檙e white, meanwhile,听The Greenville News听found that you鈥檙e听.

鈥淚f I鈥檇 have been white, I guarantee you they wouldn鈥檛 have taken my money,鈥� said Johnnie Grant, another black man in South Carolina. 鈥淭hey probably wouldn鈥檛 have even searched my car. They probably wouldn鈥檛 have even pulled me over.鈥澨�

There鈥檚 plenty of evidence for that. A 1992 investigation by听The Orlando Sentinel听found that nine out of every 10 motorists stopped and stripped of their cash in Volusia County, Florida, were either听.

Our own 2018 report found that even though just 4 percent of Marion County, Alabama, is black, in 38 percent of civil asset forfeiture cases linked to criminal charges, the听.

鈥淐ivil asset forfeiture, combined with the historic and consistent problems of racial profiling on our highways and byways, becomes very much part of a troubling equation,鈥� Shelton told听The Greenville News. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been used in a racially discriminatory manner. The law must be fully reviewed.鈥�

When we reviewed more than听听last year, we discovered that law enforcement agencies raked in more than $5 million a year, with little or no accountability in terms of who they took it from or how they spent it.

As we wrote at the time, 鈥淭he profit motive can too easily overshadow the fair administration of justice.鈥�

Civil asset forfeiture just听, which prevents someone from being penalized when he hasn鈥檛 been convicted of a crime, as Louis Rulli, a law expert at the University of Pennsylvania, told听The Greenville News.

鈥淗ow could it be possible that my property could be taken when I am not even charged with any criminal offense? It seems un-American," he said.

Ten days ago, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that, in some cases, law enforcement agencies step over the constitutional line.

The court issued a听听that the Eighth Amendment鈥檚 limit on 鈥渆xcessive fines鈥� applies to seizures made by states under civil asset forfeiture laws.听

鈥淭he court鈥檚 decision will open the door to new legal arguments when the value of the property seized was out of proportion to the crimes involved,鈥� Adam Liptak and Shaila Dewan wrote for听The New York Times.

This is an issue that crosses partisan lines, uniting advocates on both sides of the political spectrum.

It鈥檚 time for all states to outlaw this abusive practice.

The Editors

P.S. Here are some other pieces we think are valuable this week:听

• 听by Anhelica Robles for the听Southern Poverty Law Center
• 听by Dave Phillips for听The New York Times
• 听by J.M. Berger for听The Atlantic
• 听by Nosheen Iqbal forThe Guardian

蜜桃传媒's Weekend Reads are a weekly summary of the most important reporting and commentary from around the country on civil rights, economic and racial inequity, and hate and extremism.听Sign up to receive Weekend Reads every Saturday morning.

Photo听by Alamy Stock Photo