The Political Dynamics of Justice Reform in The U.S.

The 1994 Crime Law Had a Lot In It
The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, now known as the 1994 crime
law, was the result of years of work by Biden, who oversaw the Senate Judiciary
Committee at the time, and other Democrats. It was an attempt to address a big issue in
America at the time: Crime, particularly violent crime, had been rising for decades,
starting in the 1960s but continuing, on and off, through the 1990s (in part due to the
crack cocaine epidemic).
Politically, the legislation was also a chance for Democrats — including the recently
elected president, Bill Clinton — to wrestle the issue of crime away from
Republicans. Polling suggested Americans were very concerned about high crime back
then. And especially after George H.W. Bush defeated Michael Dukakis in the 1988
presidential election in part by painting Dukakis as “soft on crime,” Democrats were
acutely worried that Republicans were beating them on the issue.
Biden reveled in the politics of the 1994 law, bragging after it passed that “the liberal
wing of the Democratic Party” was now for “60 new death penalties,” “70 enhanced
penalties,” “100,000 cops,” and “125,000 new state prison cells.”
The law imposed tougher prison sentences at the federal level and encouraged states
to do the same. It provided funds for states to build more prisons, aimed to fund
100,000 more cops, and backed grant programs that encouraged police officers to carry
out more drug-related arrests — an escalation of the war on drugs.
At the same time, the law included several measures that would be far less
controversial among Democrats today. The Violence Against Women Act provided more
resources to crack down on domestic violence and rape. A provision helped fund
background checks for guns. The law encouraged states to back drug courts, which
attempt to divert drug offenders from prison into treatment, and also helped fund some
addiction treatment.
All of this was an old-school attempt to attract votes from lawmakers who otherwise
might be skeptical — and it succeeded at winning over some Democrats. Bernie
Sanders, for one, criticized an earlier version of the bill, written in 1991 but never
passed, for supporting mass incarceration, quipping, “What do we have to do, put half
the country behind bars?” But he voted for the 1994 law, explaining at the time, “I have
a number of serious problems with the crime bill, but one part of it that I vigorously
support is the Violence Against Women Act.”
Biden also opposed some parts of the law, even while he helped write it. In 1994,
he reportedly called a three-strikes provision — that escalated prison sentences up to
life for some repeat offenses — “wacko” and illustrative of Congress’ “tough on crime”
attitude.
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