Bill Clinton Admits That Mass Incarceration Stems From Policies Enacted During His Administration
President Bill Clinton on Wednesday, May 6, 2015, conceded that over-incarceration in the United States stems in part from policies passed under his administration.
Clinton signed into law an omnibus crime bill in 1994 that included the federal “three strikes” provision, mandating life sentences for criminals convicted of a violent felony after two or more prior convictions, including drug crimes. Clinton acknowledged that policy’s role in over-incarceration in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour.
“The problem is the way it was written and implemented is we cast too wide a net and we had too many people in prison,” Clinton said Wednesday. “And we wound up…putting so many people in prison that there wasn’t enough money left to educate them, train them for new jobs and increase the chances when they came out so they could live productive lives.”
Clinton’s comments come on the heels of protests in Baltimore over policing and the death of a young black man there and a week after Hillary Clinton delivered one of the first policy addresses of her presidential campaign on criminal justice reform, saying that the system focuses too much on incarceration.
“Keeping them behind bars does little to reduce crime, but it does a lot to tear apart families,” Hillary Clinton said. “Our prisons and our jails are now our mental health institutions.”
Your Black World’s Dr. Boyce Watkins shares his thoughts on the former presidents too little, too late admission of his involvement in the mass incarceration on black men.
AJ Woodson
AJ Woodson is the Editor-In-Chief of Black Westchester and Co-Owner of Urban Soul Media Group, the parent company, Host & Producer of the People Before Politics Radio Show. AJ is a Father, Brother, An Author, Journalism Fellow (Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism), Hip-Hop Artist - one third of the legendary underground rap group JVC FORCE known for the single Strong Island, Radio Personality, Hip-Hop Historian, Documentarian, Activist, Criminal Justice Advocate and Freelance Journalist whose byline has appeared in several print publications and online sites including The Source, Vibe, the Village Voice, Upscale, Sonicnet.com, Launch.com, Rolling Out Newspaper, Daily Challenge Newspaper, Spiritual Minded Magazine, Word Up! Magazine, On The Go Magazine and several others.
7 comments
That is the sad truth of it. A vote for Hillary is like a third term for Bill, that’s why he’s busting a gut to get her elected. If you do your homework you’ll see the both of them have been involved insome weird criminal sh*t since the late 1980, ( check out the Whitewater business, ), and right now Hillary is under investigation by four different federal agencies!
These people are users, they will look you in the eye and tell you what ever you want to hear, and then sell you out the first chance they get. You might as well vote Republican as to vote for them.
Did you know that back in the mid 1960’s while Sanders was getting arrested marching for civil rights Hillary was campaigning for Barry Goldwater, who was against the civil rights act? Totally true, look it up.
Your a sucker if you believe either of the Clinton’s.
Black people should leave this country if they have the resources to do so. It will never be safe in America for black people to live out their lives under the white devil’s rules.
Lonnie Grigsby
Like many Americans we do not ( myself included) educate ourselves about the Presidential candidates. We only listen to the media.
So, if you have proof on the GOOD, the BAD and the UGLiness on each candidate….please do a special 2-day report on them to assist us in making our decision.
Currently, I’m ignoring all things presidential, Donald Trump has taken over the airways thereby making a mockery of it all…his insane asylum.
I’d love to know more but don’t know which sources are credible to trust.
Thank you!!!
I am a white woman 75 years old. If we vote independan Hilary will win this election. I totally agree with you though we don’t have any choice I will not vote for Hillary Clinton and of Donald Trump doesn’t get the nomination for the Republican he’s going to run as an independent and there again the votes going to be split and we’re going to have another Clinton in the White House. I saw where a man of course she was black was in jail or prison 4 30 yrs there was no evidence against him none nada zip nothing. There was a big push to get him out of jail and back to his family he done nothing wrong the prosecutor knew he didn’t do anything wrong but it took DNA to finally give him justice and get him back home. I can’t remember what State it was then that I think it was Louisiana did not want to pay this man $300,000 because he had been incarcerated that many years for something he didn’t do. He died four months after coming out of prison but he left instructions with an attorney should they be able to get any money out of the state that locked him up it would go to his children. Unless we know for a fact but some man is guilty or woman like George Zimmerman as far as I’m concerned he should be in jail he killed a young black boy for no reason he took a gun to to a fist fight in the 9-1-1 operator told him don’t get out of your car the man should be in jail for murder he killed that young boy for no reason they want to talk about how I beat up George Zimmerman was no he wasn’t. I am from Tampa Florida and he got off and so did Casey Anthony. And when we do put somebody in jail and they get the death sentence we keep them in there another 30yrs. I do not believe but if we know like Jodi arias for a fact that they deserve not to live on this earth they don’t deserve to have 30 more years of freedom. How long was Ted Bundy in jail before they finally executed him. They said 90% of inmates are in there for non violent crimes. And if they weren’t violent before they went in there they’re going to by the time they get out. We have nobody to vote for that’s running it’s our money back to get the vote is money there’s an old saying money talks bs walks. My feeling is I don’t care what color your skin is I care what your heart looks like we all bleed red. My dad is half Mexican his mother was Mexican and his father was of white men as they refer to us. My dad suffered racial injustice terrible he was brought up in California he never told us that we had grandparents he always told us he was an orphan he was one of nine children but he was so bullied as a child he was called the gringo by the Mexican population and he was called of wet back by the white Americans. My children are darker then my dad ever thought of being my dad was born in 1915. He never taught us to be racist to me that’s the worst kind of person there is someone thats racist someone that pulls the heartstrings of somebody else so you make a lot of sense and I agree and I don’t know that Donald Trump can do anything I will do anything for any of us white black green purple red yellow all they all think about is themselves I heard Whoopi Goldberg say one day there shouldn’t be a debate about health care we of the American public want what you have senators just give us what you’ve got will be happy. I wish I knew the answer but I do know Hillary Clinton is not the answer. An innocent man should not spend one day in jail somebody that’s been a bag of weed and believe me I don’t smoke it never have never will but now its legal in Colorado and we still got this man in jail for 15 life sentences. And nobody wants to take their cases we need to be worried about the hardened criminals The Killers the pedophile men that beat up on women of violent crimes. And we protect the pedophile while they’re in prison put him in general population put Scott Peterson and Drew Peterson in general population we wouldn’t have to worry about is it ethical the death penalty. That man is doing 15 life sentences and that Susan Smith that drove her kids into a river and nothing around Alex and Michael 15 years ago or 20 years ago she’s up for parole at age 53. That Andrea Yates that kills all of her children 1 at a, time she sitting in a hospital th.ey overturned her conviction they said she was crazy Paula Sims another bright lady that killed two babies because they were girl she’s walking somewhere around the prison in Missouri. And there are probably a lot more that don’t deserved ever come out of prison but when we know and have no evidence of a man committing a crime he should not be incarcerated. why does it take so darn long to get him out. That white man Jared that just got 15 years are they kidding me he should never be let out of jail and then protect him for 15 years so he doesn’t get hurt. I agree with you sir there are too many young black men locked up for non violent crimes. I wish I knew the answer but I don’t. My husband used to say the problem doesn’t lie in the presidency it lives in the house in the Senate. I hope more people watch your video because it sure makes a lot of sense to me. God bless
All true. However, in fairness, Reagan’s cocaine smuggling, (remember Iran-Contra?), resulted in an explosion in drug activity, and people were begging for something to be done. Problem was, nothing was done with drugs favored by White users, only drugs favored by Black users.
Where was the 42nd Presidents interview?, this was just your scheme to get everybody to hear what you had to say, that is not “EQUALITY”, you should only speek for yourself not for someone else….
IT IS WELL DOCUMENTED THAT BILL CLINTON ACCELERATED THE MASS INCARCERATION OF BLACK MEN AND HIS WIFE WAS LOCK STEP WITH HIM IN THE DESTRUCTION.
Comments are closed.