Kamala Harris is one smart woman. She was the attorney general (AG) for California, which has the world’s fifth largest economy. As AG, she was the top law enforcement office holder over 40 million people. One of Harris’ core beliefs has been to work within the system she wants to change. Now that she is running for president, she is taking that one step further.
Harris took presidential primary opponent and former vice president Joe Biden to task for his 1994 crime bill, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act known as the Three Strikes And You Are Out bill. On the campaign trail, NBC News reported that she said:
‘I have a great deal of respect for Vice President Joe Biden, but I disagree. That crime bill, that 1994 crime bill, it did contribute to mass incarceration in this country. (That bill) encouraged and was the first time that we had a federal three-strikes law. It funded the building of more prisons in the states. So I disagree, sadly.
Biden responded that the bill offered $10 billion in “crime prevention measures:”
‘Folks, let’s get something straight, 92 out of every 100 prisoners end up behind bars are in a state prison, not a federal prison. This idea that the crime bill generated mass incarceration, it did not generate mass incarceration. That’s what it was about.’
Founder of North Star and activist Shaun King said that the law disproportionately harmed African Americans:
‘Until @JoeBiden answers for the 2 lies he told THIS WEEK in this moment, I’ll continue to speak about it.
1. He knows damn well that BILLIONS of dollars went to fund local police and local jails & prisons.
2. He knows it generated mass incarceration.’
Until @JoeBiden answers for the 2 lies he told THIS WEEK in this moment, I’ll continue to speak about it.
1. He knows damn well that BILLIONS of dollars went to fund local police and local jails & prisons.
2. He knows it generated mass incarceration.
— Shaun King (@shaunking) May 19, 2019
King tweeted about Harris’ response on whether Biden was right:
‘Don’t listen to me.
Listen to @KamalaHarris answer the question on whether or not Joe Biden was right when he said his 1994 Crime Bill didn’t make mass incarceration worse.
IT DOUBLED THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN PRISON in just 10 years. ‘
Don’t listen to me.
Listen to @KamalaHarris answer the question on whether or not Joe Biden was right when he said his 1994 Crime Bill didn’t make mass incarceration worse.
IT DOUBLED THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN PRISON in just 10 years.
— Shaun King (@shaunking) May 19, 2019
Rising her career in the criminal justice system, Harris has seen herself as a progressive. She already had taken a seat at the decision table, according to The Vox magazine. In her book, The Truths We Hold, the former AG said:
‘The job of a progressive prosecutor is to look out for the overlooked, to speak up for those whose voices aren’t being heard, to see and address the causes of crime, not just their consequences, and to shine a light on the inequality and unfairness that lead to injustice. It is to recognize that not everyone needs punishment, that what many need, quite plainly, is help.’
She said that American imprisons far too many people, especially people of color. Not only that, they are in prison far “too long.” Instead, she wants to fight the “root causes” of crime.
Critics note that she refused to ask for the death penalty for a man who shot a police officer and bucked long-time Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in the process. She instituted a very successful program, Back on Track. The system reform gave first-time drug offenders the alternative of choosing prison or a high school diploma. That program even included first-time drug dealer offenders.
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