Bernie Sanders was arguing against mass incarceration as early as 1991

[Uncle Joe]

(snip)

n 1991, Congress was debating a punitive crime bill that would have, among many other steps, widened the use of the death penalty and ramped up prison sentences. The final bill — a compromise after Democrats and Republicans went back and forth to see who could look tougher — was sponsored by Democrats, actually getting more votes from Democrats than Republicans in the House.

Sanders, then Vermont’s representative in the House, argued the bill was “not a crime prevention bill” but “a punishment bill, a retribution bill, a vengeance bill.” He criticized it for expanding the use of the death penalty as other developed nations were reeling it back or ending its use altogether. Then he focused on mass incarceration:

(snip)

Sanders did vote for a major 1994 law, which President Bill Clinton strongly pushed for at the time, that also ramped up the use of prisons and lengthened prison sentences. But he still emphasized back then that he didn’t back the mass incarceration approach. He said:

(snip)

Instead, Sanders said he voted for the 1994 law because he supported certain parts of it — such as the Violence Against Women Act, which helped crack down on domestic violence and rape. “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,” he said. “We urgently need the $1.8 billion in this bill to combat the epidemic of violence against women on the streets and in the homes of America.”

(snip)

Sanders’s comments in the 1990s indicate that a specific point of his skepticism was the heavy use of prison, which he suggested wouldn’t be very effective in fighting crime. The research has now proven that suggestion right.

(snip)

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/27/18240474/bernie-sanders-mass-incarceration-president-campaign

This is a nice informative read.

[mountain grammy]

1. One thing Bernie does consistently

Is explain why he votes for or against any legislation and understands when to compromise and when not to. compromise.. I find this to be an excellent quality in him.

[Demsrule86]

2. He like Biden and many other Democrats voted for the crime bill .

I don't fault them for it...different times.

[Mr. Smith]

3. I faulted them for it then. But it was a long time ago.

And as another poster in this thread noted, at least Bernie explains why he voted the way he did.

[Demsrule86]

4. It is a long time ago. So I don't really care why any of them did it. Different time as I noted.

[Hortensis]

5. What took him so long to catch up with me?

NOT impressed. And I'm really serious.

[betsuni]

6. He said this last year:

"I'll be honest with you. I really didn't know this was happening. I had no idea hundreds of thousands of Americans, particularly African-Americans, were being held in jail, for months or years, even though they've never been convicted of a crime, simply because they can't afford bail. I've learned a lot. I see the racial disparities clearer than ever."

He's learning.

He said this about the 1994 law: "It is my firm belief that clearly, there are people in our society who are horribly violent, who are deeply sick and sociopathic, and clearly these people must be put behind bars in order to protect society from them."

[ehrnst]

7. But in 1994...

Link to tweet