When asked whether it was a mistake to support a 1994 law that set harsher penalties for drug possession, Joe Biden agreed that it was, as he outlined a vision for community-driven police reform and stressed that drug users should be rehabilitated, not imprisoned.
“I don’t believe anyone should be going to drug courts for drug use,” the Democratic presidential candidate said during a town hall on ABC.
He has previously called his support for the legislation a “big mistake" during a January 2019 event before he announced his candidacy in the 2020 race.
Mr Biden defended elements of the legislation, pointing to its support from the Black caucus and Black mayors across the US.
He said things have "changed drastically" in the wake of the so-called crime bill, though he touted its support from black lawmakers and the inclusion of the Violence Against Women Act.
His campaign clarified that Mr Biden believed it was a mistake to support the 1986 crime bill, which included mandatory minimums for drug crimes.
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“But here’s where the mistake came,” he said of the 1994 law. "The mistake came in terms of what the states did locally.”
The former vice president, who in the 1990s authored the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act while a US senator from Delaware, said people with records for marijuana possession should have their records cleared and that the US should instead build “rehab centres to have people housed."
He also proposed a “national study group” to bring together police representatives and community leaders from Black communities to reform law enforcement.
“We shouldn’t be defunding police officers,” he said. "We should be mandating the things that we should be doing within police departments.”
Asked by moderator George Stephanopoulos whether Mr Biden still believes that more police means less crime, he said: “Yes, if in fact they're involved in community policing and not jump squads.”
The law, on the heels of “war on drugs” rhetoric and surge in crack cocaine use, has been criticised as a harbinger of mass incarceration over the last three decades, resulting in harsh penalties and sentencing guidelines that have disproportionately impacted Black people.
StJeanMark on October 16th, 2020 at 02:05 UTC »
I was addicted to opiates because when I became an adult they were readily available at every party for years, and when the solution was “punish everyone and take the pills away” me and everyone else switched to heroin. Now I am lucky and I got out, but I know many people who have died and many still stuck in the “game”. Biden has it right, I don’t think I should have been treated like a criminal, I had issues and was sick in many ways. Punishment is not the answer to drugs.
DasScarecrow on October 16th, 2020 at 01:26 UTC »
How refreshing to hear a political leader not only admit that he made a mistake, but also explain the reasoning behind it and what he wants to do to rectify it.
bitwise97 on October 16th, 2020 at 01:10 UTC »
Admitting he was wrong about the crime bill is a sign of maturity. Evaluate new data and decide if you need to change your position. That’s the kind of leader we need.