The Political Dynamics of Justice Reform in The U.S.
The Political Dynamics of Justice Reform in The U.S.
The Political Dynamics of Justice Reform in The U.S.
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Vox<br />
<strong>The</strong> Controversial 1994 Crime Law<br />
That Joe Biden Helped Write, Expla<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
<strong>The</strong> 1994 “tough on crime” law rema<strong>in</strong>s a big topic <strong>of</strong> debate<br />
<strong>in</strong> 2020 Democratic debates. Here’s what you need to know.<br />
by German Lopez | Jun 20, 2019, 9:00am ED<br />
One <strong>of</strong> the most controversial crim<strong>in</strong>al justice issues <strong>in</strong> the 2020 Democratic primary is<br />
a “tough on crime” law passed 25 years ago — and authored by current poll<br />
frontrunner Joe Biden.<br />
If you ask some crim<strong>in</strong>al justice reform activists, the 1994 crime law passed by<br />
Congress and signed by President Bill Cl<strong>in</strong>ton, which was meant to reverse decades <strong>of</strong><br />
ris<strong>in</strong>g crime, was one <strong>of</strong> the key contributors to mass <strong>in</strong>carceration <strong>in</strong> the 1990s.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y say it led to more prison sentences, more prison cells, and more aggressive<br />
polic<strong>in</strong>g — especially hurt<strong>in</strong>g black and brown Americans, who are disproportionately<br />
likely to be <strong>in</strong>carcerated.<br />
If you ask Biden, that’s not true at all. <strong>The</strong> law, he argued at a recent campaign stop,<br />
had little impact on <strong>in</strong>carceration, which largely happens at the state level. As recently<br />
as 2016, Biden defended the law, argu<strong>in</strong>g it “restored American cities” follow<strong>in</strong>g an era<br />
<strong>of</strong> high crime and violence.<br />
<strong>The</strong> truth, it turns out, is somewhere <strong>in</strong> the middle.<br />
<strong>The</strong> 1994 crime law was certa<strong>in</strong>ly meant to <strong>in</strong>crease <strong>in</strong>carceration <strong>in</strong> an attempt to crack<br />
down on crime, but its implementation doesn’t appear to have done much <strong>in</strong> that area.<br />
And while the law had many provisions that are now considered highly controversial,<br />
some portions, <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g the Violence Aga<strong>in</strong>st Women Act and the assault weapons<br />
ban, are fairly popular among Democrats.<br />
That’s how politicians like Biden, as well as fellow presidential candidate Sen. Bernie<br />
Sanders (I-VT), can now justify their votes for the law — by po<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g to the provisions<br />
that weren’t “tough on crime.”<br />
But with Biden’s crim<strong>in</strong>al justice record com<strong>in</strong>g under scrut<strong>in</strong>y as he runs for<br />
president, it’s the mass <strong>in</strong>carceration provisions that are draw<strong>in</strong>g particular attention as<br />
a key example <strong>of</strong> how Biden helped fuel the exact same policies that crim<strong>in</strong>al justice<br />
reformers are try<strong>in</strong>g to reverse.<br />
For some Democrats, the 1994 law is exhibit A for why Biden can’t be trusted to do the<br />
right th<strong>in</strong>g on crim<strong>in</strong>al justice issues should he become president.<br />
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