Lack of enforcement sets tone for more hate crimes
OBAMA: [to Biden]: There is a consequence to the demagoguery [over immigration]--hate crimes against Latinos have gone way up over the last year. We've also seen over the last several months this epidemic of nooses being hung all across the country since
the events down in Jena, Louisiana. And it indicates the degree to which a president has to set a tone of bringing all people together as opposed to excluding people. And being willing to talk about racial issues when they arise and having a civil rights
division of the justice department that is aggressive about investigating. So, what can we do to strengthen the enforcement of hate crimes legislation? It is something that I will prioritize as president but I don't want to have to wait until I am.
BIDEN: We can and we should move [the pending Hate Crimes legislation] forward. The impediment right now is the president. We need someone in the civil rights division who is aggressive in going after these hate crimes. I would not wait.
Source: 2007 Iowa Brown & Black Presidential Forum
Dec 1, 2007
Need justice that is not just us, but is everybody
Q: In the last decade, whites were 70% of persons arrested, but only 40% of inmates. Why?
A: The criminal justice system is not color blind. It does not work for all people equally, and that is why it's critical to have a president who sends a signal
that we are going to have a system of justice that is not just us, but is everybody. I passed racial profiling legislation at the state level. It requires some political courage, because oftentimes you are accused of being soft on crime.
Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University
Jun 28, 2007
Some heinous crimes justify the ultimate punishment
While the evidence tells me that the death penalty does little to deter crime, I believe there are some crimes--mass murder, the rape and murder of a child--so heinous that the community is justified in expressing the full measure of its outrage by
meting out the ultimate punishment. On the other hand, the way capital cases were tried in Illinois at the time was so rife with error, questionable police tactics, racial bias, and shoddy lawyering, that 13 death row inmates had been exonerated
Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p. 58
Oct 1, 2006
Videotape all capital punishment interrogations
In the Illinois Senate, I sponsored a bill to require videotaping of interrogations and confessions in capital cases [after the] governor had instituted a moratorium on al executions.
In negotiating the bill, I talked about the common value that
I believed everyone shared--that no innocent person should end up on death row, abd that no person guilty of a capital offense should go free. At the end of the process, the bill had the support of all the parties involved, and it passed unanimously.
Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p. 57-59
Oct 1, 2006
Battles legislatively against the death penalty
Obama's most significant contribution has been his legislative battles against the death penalty, and against in the criminal justice system.
In Illinois, it's been a series of shocking exonerations of innocent people who are on death row.
He was involved very intimately in drafting and passing legislation that requires the video taping of police interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.
And he also was one of the co-sponsors of this very comprehensive reform or the death penalty system in Illinois, which many people say may trigger the retreat on the death penalty in many other states.
Source: Salim Muwakkil and Amy Goodman, Democracy Now
Jul 15, 2004
Supports alternative sentencing and rehabilitation
Principles that Obama supports to address crime:
Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
Increase state funds for programs which rehabilitate and educate inmates during and after their prison sentences.
Provide funding for military-style "boot camps" for first-time juvenile felons.
Source: 1998 IL State Legislative National Political Awareness Test
Jul 2, 1998
Voted YES on reinstating $1.15 billion funding for the COPS Program.
Amendment would increase funding for the COPS Program to $1.15 billion for FY 2008 to provide state and local law enforcement with critical resources. The funding is offset by an unallocated reduction to non-defense discretionary spending.
Proponents recommend voting YES because:
This amendment reinstates the COPS Program. I remind everyone, when the COPS Program was functioning, violent crime in America reduced 8.5% a year for 7 years in a row. Throughout the 1990s, we funded the COPS Program at roughly $1.2 billion, and it drove down crime. Now crime is rising again. The COPS Program in the crime bill worked, and the Government Accounting Office found a statistical link between the COPS grants and a reduction in crime.
The Brookings Institution reported the COPS Program is one of the most cost-effective programs we have ever had in this country. Local officials urgently need this support.
Opponents recommend voting NO because:
The COPS Program has some history. It was started by President Clinton. He asked for 100,000 police officers. He said that when we got to 100,000, the program would stop. We got to 110,000 police officers and the program continues on and on and on.
This program should have ended 5 years ago or 6 years ago, but it continues. It is similar to so many Federal programs that get constituencies that go on well past what their original purpose was. It may be well intentioned, but we cannot afford it and we shouldn't continue it. It was never thought it would be continued this long.
Rated 75% by the NCJA, indicating a mixed record on criminal justice.
Obama scores 75% by the NCJA on crime issues
OnTheIssues.org interprets the 2005 NCJA scores as follows:
0%- 74%: "soft-on-crime" record (approx. 133 members)
75%- 84%: mixed record on criminal justice (approx. 114 members)
85%-100%: "tough-on-crime" record (approx. 216 members)
About the NCJA (from their website, www.ncja.org):
The National Criminal Justice Association (NCJA) exists to promote the development of justice systems in states, tribal nations, and units of local government that enhance public safety; prevent and reduce the harmful effects of criminal and delinquent behavior on victims, individuals and communities; adjudicate defendants and sanction offenders fairly and justly; and that are effective and efficient.
Toward this end, the Association:
Maintains the focus of state, tribal, local and federal governments on the needs of the criminal and juvenile justice systems;
Represents state, tribal, and local criminal and juvenile justice system concerns to the federal government;
Provides support for the development of criminal and juvenile justice policy for the nation's governors and tribal leaders;
Supports the public and all levels of government in the achievement of public safety by the coordination of education, community and social service systems, in addition to law enforcement and criminal justice measures;
Serves as a catalyst for the careful consideration and promotion of effective and efficient criminal and juvenile justice policies and practices;
Advocates for the commitment of adequate resources to support all components of the criminal and juvenile justice systems; and
Coordinates between the different branches and levels of government and promotes broad philosophical agreement.
