The habitual offender statutes, or their similar counterparts, are an extension of racist America prior to the 1980s, and unfairly impact black people, and even white poor people, since there was very little funding for qualified public defenders in those times, so a person down on their luck, especially black persons, was destined to be found guilty or admit to guilt, rather than face a jury of people who had no idea of their plight and circumstances, thus removing any hope for being dealt with in a fair manner
Why is this important?
Prior to the 1980s, it was virtually impossible for a black person to get a trial before their peers, many admitted to crimes they didn't commit, rather than face these juries, so why have them incarcerated now, many for life, based on those convictions. The facts are clear, black people were seldomly seen on college basketball teams in the South, before the mid 1970s.
