Topics in the News: Three Strikes
Cory Booker on Crime
: May 6, 2019
Cut mandatory minimum sentences; end solitary for juveniles
He has been a vocal proponent of reforming the criminal justice system. Proposal for a new bill with progressive ideas like further cutting mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenses and banning racial and religious profiling. In a recently enacted
bill, Booker pushed to prohibit solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons.
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Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Michael Bennet on Crime
: May 2, 2019
Sponsor of bipartisan First Step reform bill
Bennet was a sponsor for the justice reform First Step Act bill in 2016,
which limited juvenile solitary confinement and reduced minimum sentences for some repeat non-violent drug crimes.
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Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Pete Buttigieg on Crime
: Mar 27, 2019
Death penalty is racist; mandatory minimums too
While discussing criminal justice reform at the National Action Network, Buttigieg said, "As we work to end mandatory minimums for nonviolent offenses, here too we must be intentional about fixing disparities that have deeply unfair racial consequences.
It is time to face the simple fact that capital punishment as seen in America has always been a discriminatory practice and we would be a fairer and safer country when we join the ranks of modern nations who have abolished the death penalty."
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Source: The Hill: 2020 Democratic primary & National Action Network
Larry Hogan on Crime
: Jan 31, 2018
Crack down on violent crime with truth-in-sentencing laws
We enacted tough anti-gang legislation, including a new Maryland RICO statute. This year, let's crack down on those violent criminals who use guns to commit crimes by passing tougher minimum sentences. And pass truth-in-sentencing legislation to require
that repeat violent criminals serve their full sentences without the possibility of suspension, parole, or probation. Let's strengthen Maryland's gang statutes and RICO law to help take down these drug dealing criminal gang enterprises.
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Source: 2018 Maryland State of the State address
Stacey Abrams on Crime
: Mar 30, 2017
Voted NO on 10-year minimum for assaulting a cop
HB 258: Amends the Code regarding the aggravated assault of a peace officer by increasing the minimum sentence to ten years of imprisonment. If the aggravated assault of a peace officer involves the discharge of a firearm, none of the mandatory minimum
sentence can be probated, stayed, suspended, deferred or withheld. MY VOTE: NO. I disagree with the increase of mandatory minimums and the lack of discretion available to judges to fully determine if extenuating circumstances are present.
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Source: 2018 Georgia governor campaign website StaceyAbrams.com
Hillary Clinton on Crime
: Sep 26, 2016
End profit motivation to filling prison cells
It's just a fact that if you're a young African-American man and you do the same thing as a young white man, you are more likely to be arrested, charged, convicted, and incarcerated. So we've got to address the systemic racism in our criminal justice
system. We have to come forward with a plan that is going to divert people from the criminal justice system, deal with mandatory minimum sentences, which have put too many people away for too long for doing too little.
We need to have more second chance programs. I'm glad that we're ending private prisons in the federal system; I want to see them ended in the state system.
You shouldn't have a profit motivation to fill prison cells with young Americans. So there are some positive ways we can work on this.
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Source: First 2016 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University
Cory Booker on Drugs
: Apr 28, 2015
End mandatory sentencing for nonviolent drug offenders
I reintroduced the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2015, bipartisan legislation that would enact meaningful sentencing reforms that would make our federal sentencing policy fairer, smarter, and more cost-effective. It would reduce harsh mandatory minimums
for nonviolent drug offenders, which is the single largest factor in the growth of the federal prison population. If we want our prison population to decrease, we must reduce mandatory minimums.The bill would expand the federal "safety valve,"
which returns discretion in sentencing for nonviolent drug offenses back to federal judges. It would allow persons convicted under the pre-2010 crack cocaine laws to receive reduced sentences, a change needed to make crack
cocaine penalties more in line with powder cocaine penalties. Crack and powder cocaine are pharmacologically the same. The Smarter Sentencing Act would reduce these sentences and save our country $229 million over the next 10 years.
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Source: Brennan Center for Justice essays, p. 10-1
Hillary Clinton on Crime
: Jan 1, 2015
Where do Bill and Hillary disagree on social issues?
| Where Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton agree on Social / domestic issues |
|---|
- Both pro-death penalty
- Both strongly pro-choice
- Both strongly pro-affirmative action
- Both strongly
pro-ObamaCare
- Both strongly pro-environment
- Both strongly pro-gun control
- Both strongly pro-voting rights
|
| Where they disagree: | Bill Clinton | Hillary Clinton |
|---|
| Three Strikes: |
Tough on crime | Limit mandatory sentencing |
|---|
| Gay marriage: | Supports some gay rights | Strongly supports |
|---|
| School prayer: | No official school prayer | No religious instruction |
|---|
| School choice : | Supports charters for all | No private nor parochial choice |
|---|
| Legalize marijuana : | Keep war on drugs | Open to legalization |
|---|
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Source: Analysis: Bill Clinton vs. Hillary Clinton on the Issues
Seth Moulton on Crime
: Sep 1, 2014
Decrease prison populations; focus on rehabilitation
I support strong, bipartisan action to decrease prison populations and focus our attention on rehabilitation, not incarceration. We incarcerate far more non-violent offenders per capita than any other developed nation, it's costing our taxpayers
billions of dollars.Support for bills such as the bipartisan Justice Safety-Valve Act of 2013, which would shorten mandatory minimums and expand the judicial sentencing safety valves, is a great place to start.
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Source: 2014 House campaign website, SethMoulton.com
Hillary Clinton on Crime
: Jun 28, 2007
Mandatory sentences have been too widely used
We have to do all of these things:- We do have to go after racial profiling. I’ve supported legislation to try to tackle that.
- We have to go after mandatory minimums. You know, mandatory sentences for certain violent crimes may be appropriate,
but it has been too widely used. And it is using now a discriminatory impact.
- We need diversion, like drug courts. Non-violent offenders should not be serving hard time in our prisons. They need to be diverted from our prison system.
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Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University
Mike Gravel on Crime
: May 23, 2007
Eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing laws
The US incarcerates more people and at a higher rate than any other peacetime nation in the world. The number of US residents behind bars has now reached 2.3 million. We are losing an entire generation of young men and women to our prisons. We must
eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing laws. We must increase the use of alternative penalties for nonviolent drug offenders. Prisons in this country should be a legitimate criminal sanction--but it should be an extension of a fair, just and wise society
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Source: 2008 Presidential campaign website, gravel2008.us, “Issues”
Mike Bloomberg on Crime
: Dec 7, 2006
Mandatory minimum sentencing for gun crimes
Mayor Bloomberg announced the launch of a subway ad campaign that warns about the increase in the mandatory minimum sentence for illegal possession of a loaded handgun. Backed by Mayor Bloomberg, this legislation passed in June. “Illegal guns don’t
belong on our streets and we’re sending that message loud and clear,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “We’re determined to see that gun dealers who break the law are held accountable, and that criminals who carry illegal loaded guns serve serious time behind bars.
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Source: Mayoral office press release PR-428-06
Howie Hawkins on Crime
: Aug 1, 2006
Opposes mandatory sentencing
Q: What does Hawkins think of mandatory “Three Strikes” sentencing laws?A: Doesn’t agree with mandatory sentencing.
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Source: Email interview on 2006 Senate race with OnTheIssues.org
Jesse Ventura on Crime
: Jul 2, 2000
Opposes “Three Strikes”; leave discretion to judges
I’m against legislation that puts the state or federal government on the position of caring for somebody for life for trivial reasons. That’s why I’m opposed to the Three Strikes law, as it’s now written. We should be prosecuting felons severely the firs
time around. If somebody has done a violent crime and served his time, you don’t then put him away forever for stealing cookies. Mandatory sentences are awful. They take power away from judges. Judges should be allowed a certain amount of discretion.
They should be able to treat each case individually. Three Strikes would work fine if it put people away for three violent felonies. But it’s a stupid waste of taxpayers’ money otherwise. Plus, it causes a backup in our court system, because nobody
who gets caught a third time wants to plead guilty and face certain life in prison. Legislators love tough-sounding programs like Three Strikes; unfortunately, it makes them look good at campaign time, but it causes us more problems afterwards.
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Source: Do I Stand Alone, by Jesse Ventura, p.157-8
Hillary Clinton on Crime
: Aug 10, 1994
Supports “Three Strikes” and more prison
There is something wrong when a crime bill takes six years to work its way through Congress and the average criminal serves only four.We need more police,
we need more and tougher prison sentences for repeat offenders. The three strikes and you’re out for violent offenders has to be part of the plan. We need more prisons to keep violent offenders for as long as it takes to keep them off the streets.
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Source: Unique Voice, p.189-90: Remarks at Annual Women in Policing
Page last updated: Jul 09, 2019