Eric Holder endorses Joe Biden, saying he will be 'forward-leaning' on criminal justice reform

[Gothmog]

Link to tweet

Former attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr. endorsed former vice president Joe Biden on Tuesday, emphasizing that he thinks Biden is prepared to address the issues stemming from the coronavirus and will also work to reduce mass incarceration and heal a divided nation.

Holder, announcing his endorsement for the first time, told The Fix his former fellow Obama administration official would prioritize criminal justice reform if elected.

“This is one of those issues that people are going to be surprised at how forward-leaning he’s likely to be,” Holder said.
As attorney general, Holder implemented directives aimed at decreasing mass incarceration, including directing prosecutors to refrain from seeking mandatory minimums for lower-level drug offenses. He said he is convinced that Biden will continue this work.

“I think you will see him deal with the whole problem of mass incarceration and continuing the work that we did during the Obama-Biden years to ask questions about the ways in which we have dealt with criminal justice issues in the nation, like, do we need to incarcerate as many people as we do? And are there alternatives to incarceration?”

[Wounded Bear]

1. I think Joe has learned some things along the way that should serve him well...

The problem is that decades of overburdening the legal system with the War on Drugs and the systemic racism it promulgates, it difficult for a president to accomplish much in a single term. But it would be a move in the right direction.

[Midnightwalk]

2. There's a flip side to criminal justice reform

We need to make it easier to prosecute corporate and white collar crime and make those penalties more severe.

Fraud shouldn’t be just a cost of doing business.

The tea party was astro turfed but there was a lot of legitimate anger at financial institutes and bankers that they exploited.

Beyond just fairness, prosecuting the crimes of the trump administration and the profiteers of the corona virus crisis is important politically as well as morally.

[crickets]

3. Good points. nt

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

4. K&R