Conservative Billionaire Charles Koch Has Some Surprising Things To Say About The Criminal Justice System

The last person you would expect to stand up for the rights of over-policed minorities would be a conservative billionaire, but Charles Koch (of the infamous Koch brothers), believes that the criminal justice system unfairly targets minorities and the poor for non-violent crimes, the Wichita Eagle is reporting.

Charles Koch and his brother, David, made billions in oil refining and other businesses, according to the Huffington Post. To their political opponents, the Koch brothers are known primarily for writing the checks that support Americans for Prosperity, a political advocacy organization that supports slashing government and cutting taxes — causes largely championed by conservatives, but supported by libertarians as well.

But they’ve also quietly been supporting efforts aimed at reforming the criminal justice system, including sponsoring a forum about the issue earlier this year.

Charles Koch found himself caught up in the gears of justice in 1995. One of his companies — an oil refinery near Corpus Christi, Texas — was indicted for 97 felonies related to various environmental crimes. Koch’s legal team spent millions fighting the charges, and all but one would ultimately be dropped. He paid a settlement, and the matter was closed.

But the experience, says Charles Koch’s lawyer, Mark Holden, got him thinking about the plight of other individuals who don’t have millions of dollars to defend themselves against zealous prosecutors. Specifically, minorities and the poor, whom Koch believes the justice system unfairly targets.

“It was a really, really torturous experience. We learned first-hand what happens when anyone gets into the criminal justice system… [Mr. Koch wondered] how the little guy who doesn’t have Koch’s resources deals with prosecutions like that.”

For the past 10 years, Koch has been donating to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, supporting efforts to train defense attorneys in how to assist the poor in their legal right to a defense.

And in 2015, Charles Koch intends to ramp up his efforts, focusing on efforts to make prison sentences for non-violent offenses — such as drug offenses and property crimes — more proportionately fit the crime. Other efforts include addressing the racial disparity, intended or not, in the country’s criminal justice system that leads to one in three black men spending at least some time in prison in their lifetime.

“We have more of America now in prison than they ever did (in South Africa) in apartheid. Let that swirl around in your head for a while.”

Do you agree with Charles Koch that the criminal justice system in the U.S. over-prosecutes people for non-violent crimes and unfairly targets minorities and the poor? Sound off in the Comments below.

[Image courtesy of: The Wichita Eagle]