Biden criminal justice plan reverses part of 1994 crime bill

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Joe Biden is proposing to reverse several key provisions of the 1994 crime bill he helped write in an acknowledgment that his tough-on-crime positions of the past are at odds with the views of the modern Democratic Party.

In a speech later Tuesday in New Orleans, the former vice president will call for an end to the disparity that placed stricter sentencing terms on offenses involving crack versus powder cocaine as well as an end to the federal death penalty, which the legislation authorized as a potential punishment for an increasing number of crimes.

Biden is the early Democratic front-runner in no small part because of support from black voters who are crucial to winning the party's presidential nomination. But his role in crafting the 1994 crime bill could become a vulnerability. Several of his rivals have blamed the crime bill for the mass incarceration of racial minorities over the past two decades.

Biden's moves could be an attempt to blunt fellow White House contenders Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, who have escalated their critiques of the former vice president's handling of race in recent weeks. All three candidates will share a stage at next week's presidential debate.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/biden-criminal-justice-plan-reverses-part-of-1994-crime-bill/ar-AAEJTEe?li=BBnb7Kz

[SouthernProgressive]

1. The outline looks extremely impressive.

The Safe Act is solid.

[LincolnRossiter]

2. And of course Booker, without addressing the substance of Biden's proposal in any way, immediately

took aim at Biden's record, tweeting "“It’s not enough to tell us what you’re going to do for our communities, show us what you’ve done for the last 40 years."

This would be pathetic if he were actually in contention. It's something even worse given his polling and fundraising figures.

I'm beginning to think he's just kind of a jackass.

[Peacetrain]

3. My guess is that DeBlasio and Booker are going nuts about now..

They were hoping to do what Harris did.. and get the bounce.. they are out of the running..and this was their last chance..

[SouthernProgressive]

5. I think you are right. NT

[murielm99]

4. We want our candidates to evolve

and change with the times. Joe is doing that.

He is not my first choice, but this is a positive thing.

[MichMan]

6. One thing I never understood about crack vs cocaine ?

Knowing that the penalties for dealing crack were so much more strict than powder cocaine, how stupid would one have to be to continue to sell crack ?