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On the anniversary of Joe Biden’s crime bill, are we heading down the same harmful path?

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Photo: Dirck Halstead/Getty Images

Tuesday was the twenty eighthvol anniversary of the signing of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, commonly often known as the Crime Act 1994. This controversial laws comprises many provisions in its 356 pages and at the moment was “the largest criminal justice bill in U.S. history.” Then-Senator Biden, who chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee, authored the “tough on crime” language that was later signed into law by President Clinton.

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More than a quarter-century later, opponents of the law remain critical, with many arguing that it has fundamentally contributed to our nation’s mass incarceration problem, as evidenced by the incontrovertible fact that the United States “imprisons more of its citizens – disproportionately black people – than any other nation in the world ”

While the law did establish a ban on assault weapons and included a big provision on violence against women that greatly helped reduce incidents of domestic violence, the law consisted of language that: “[s]through an enormous injection of federal funds, local and native governments were encouraged to construct more jails and prisons and to enact so-called truth-in-sentencing laws and other punitive measures that concurrently increased the number and length of prison sentences while limiting the possibility of early release. for the imprisoned,” he writes Center for American Progress.

The 1994 Act was particularly problematic given its links to and reinforcement of the 1986 Drug Abuse Act, “which created huge sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine. Under this Act, a person was sentenced to at least five years in prison for five grams of crack cocaine, but 500 grams of powder cocaine was sufficient to impose the same sentence.” Because crack is cheaper than its powder form, it is more prevalent in lower-income communities that are “more prone to be predominately black.”

On the anniversary of Joe Biden's crime bill, are we heading down the same harmful path?

U.S. President Bill Clinton (left) hugs Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, Sept. 13, 1994, during a crime bill signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. – President Clinton said the crime bill would “stop this terrible wave of violence” in the US. (Photo by PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)

According to Brookings Institution“[m]understandably, everyone sees the 1994 Crime Act as the primary source of the problems discussed here, even when the truth is way more complicated.

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Reflecting on the legacy of the 1994 crime bill, ESSENCE sat down with Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) and Dr. Amara Enyia, policy and research director at Movement for Black Liveswhich is “an ecosystem of individuals and organizations creating a shared vision and political agenda to achieve rights, recognition and resources for Black people.”

In his first 12 months in Congress, Congressman Scott, then the only member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) on the Crime Subcommittee, became the leading opponent of the 1994 crime bill. When asked about that point, Congressman Scott said, “Everyone was in favor of the crime bill aside from a number of who, like me, didn’t understand the message. The 1994 Crime Bill was essentially a political document, consisting of all the poll-tested slogans and sound bites put together and called the Crime Bill.

According to Dr. Enya, “we are still living under the impact of the 1994 Crime Bill when we talk about the role that mass incarceration has played in destabilizing families and entire communities and has an impact for generations. Everything from the conditions that labeled people, especially Black people, as super predators, to the development of the three-strikes rule, to a criminal legal system that was already unjust, fundamentally supported and provided with even more resources to continue these actions that devastated the community Black people.”

During the conversation, Dr. Enyia strongly emphasized the incontrovertible fact that “we need to invest in things that actually create strong individuals, strong families, strong communities, and that doesn’t just require investing in police and police infrastructure.”

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“We know what it looks like when generations of people are separated from their families or don’t have that stability in their community. We cannot support or advocate for measures that are inhumane or unconstitutional because they will always further harm Black people, who will always bear the brunt of it,” Dr. Enyia continued.

Regarding current criminal justice reform efforts, Congressman Scott stays eager for the future, stating: “I think people have learned the lessons of the 1994 Criminal Justice Act. [President] Bill Clinton doesn’t even try to defend it anymore. It served a political purpose but had no concern for actually reducing crime or the impact it had on minorities. We’ve come a long way since then – back in the day, when you talked about evidence-based crime policy, you were thought of as being soft on crime. But I think enough people now actually support a smart, evidence-based approach to crime policy that relies heavily on prevention and early intervention.”

 

This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
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Crime

Sean “Diddy” Combs strives for a two -month delay in the process of May 5

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Manufacturer’s lawyers Sean “Diddy” Combs asked on Wednesday a federal judge in New York to delay the process with sexual trade of May 5 by two months in order that they may higher prepare the defense.

Lawyers said in a letter to Judge Aruna Subramanian that prosecutors are slowly passing on potential evidence for a review, which hinders preparation inside three weeks.

Lawyers said that prosecutors oppose this conclusion. A spokesman for prosecutors refused to comment.

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Subramanian wrote in an order corresponding to a delayed sample to resolve this problem during the hearing scheduled for Friday.

The judge wrote that in anticipation of the conference, either side should proceed, as if early attempt remained in place.

The prosecutor says that Sean

55 -year -old Combs was detained without a deposit from his September arrest. He didn’t confess to many crimes that, in line with prosecutors, took place over two a long time.

In their letter, defense lawyers quoted by prosecutors potential procedural evidence in a timely case, including materials related to the replacing indictment reflected by the great jury at the starting of this month.

For example, lawyers wrote, prosecutors said that they might not meet the Wednesday date for the transfer of exhibits and the list of witnesses.

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Lawyers said that some evidence that ought to be conveyed includes materials related to the number of accusations, which contain a 15-year compulsory minimum prison judgment if a conviction is secured.

As a result, they wrote: “We cannot, in a good conscience, to consider the deadline.”

They added: “This is a problem that the government created, but opposes our reasonable demand.”

Prosecutors say that Combs forced and used women for years because he used his “power and prestige” as a music star to attract a network of colleagues and employees to assist him when he silenced the victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical bits.

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This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Crime

Rapper Tay-K sentenced 80 years behind bars for the murder of a photographer in 2017

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Rapper Tay-K, born Taymor McIntyre, was sentenced to 80 years behind bars for connecting the photographer’s murder in 2017.

On Monday, McIntyre-which also leads through Tay-K 47-Set a guilty murder of Marek Anthony Sldivar in 2017 News 4 San Antonio Reported. On Tuesday, the jury in Bexar in Texas issued a sentence after hours of testimony.

“I realize that although it is a lot of time, you are still alive. You can still improve”, the Judge of the District Court in 187., Stephanie Boyd, said to Tay-K, based on Kens 5. “But the applicant in this case is deceased and you must internalize that the applicant is dead in this case. You will have to make changes.”

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The verdict appears after almost a decade of the legal saga of battles for the rapper from two separate murders. According to prosecutors, the 24-year-old, who was 16 years old at the time, fatally shot Sldivar in 2017 after the theft of photography equipment.

Viral rapper from Texas Tay-K convicted of murder in 2016 assault

Tay-K initially checked out the accusation of the capital murder, which the judge lowered himself to the murder after the meeting on Monday. Rapper lawyers criticized the police investigation in 2017, arguing that the case was largely based on “selfish” accounts of witnesses from individuals who were in the automobile while shooting.

“Taymor McIntyre is not guilty of a capital murder, murder or inadvertently causing death, and the reason is very simple,” said Tay-K lawyer John Hunter, told the jurors during closing arguments last week. “You have to do it well. You must do the work. And this matter clearly shows that the work has not been done.”

In 2019, Tay-K was also sentenced to 55 years for the murder of Ethan Walker in 2016 during the home invasion in Texas. He became a viral fame for the hit song “The Race”, which was recorded when the teenager was running around the shooting.

Tay-K is currently detained in the Department of Criminal Justice in Texas, where it’ll remain.

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Rapper Tay-K convicted of murder for the second time in Texas

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Crime

17-year-old accused in Texas

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Caramelo Anthony, a 17-year-old who was accused of a deadly stab on the Torah in Texas, was released on Bond.

On Monday afternoon, Anthony was released from $ 250,000 bonds after his lawyer successfully ran a campaign to cut back it from the unique $ 1 million throughout the interrogation in the bond, ABC News Partner Plate Reported.

Talking to reporters after the hearing, his defender, Mike Howard, said that the brand new bond was “honest”, despite his desire to lower it to $ 150,000.

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“Bond, as the judge said, should not be an instrument of oppression, should not keep people in prison, he should not punish,” Howard said, adding this “large and significant” amount, “I think that the judge rightly imposed reasonable conditions that will ensure both Karmelo and Anthony, but also the security of the community.”

As a part of his release, per Fox 4Anthony will probably be limited to home custody on the Parents’ House by Kostki. The teenager may even need to search for a permit before leaving the home, namely for trips related to the case, and he is not going to have the opportunity to depart without an adult accompanying him. He was excluded from using social media and can’t contact the victim’s family. If he violates any of his conditions, he risk returning to prison.

His release from the Collin Function prison appears 13 days after arrest for the murder of Austin Metcalf on April 2 during a gathering on the track, which was combined by the competing boys’ teams. It is claimed that in rainy delay Anthony stabbed Metcalf, also 17, during a tense meeting between them. Anthony, who confessed to stab, still argued that he was lively in self -defense. He was accused of first -degree murder in reference to the incident.

Family of Texas Teen, accused of a deadly stab of another teenager on the track, collected over $ 150,000 via the online fundraiser

The judge considered several aspects, including Anthony’s age, lack of criminal history and his connections with the community, which were visible in the courtroom throughout the trial. The Dallas Morning News He informed that Anthony’s father testified in court on behalf of the character of his son, noting that he was the captain of the team of each football and track teams in highschool, and that he has two jobs. Several people appeared to support Anthony, including a football coach and a manager from one in all his two works.

The side of the Court Metcalf, which Dallas Morning News noticed, was also full, embraced his mother, father and a number of other relations. When the judge issued her rule, Metcalf’s mother hung her head and cried. Anthony, who participated in the hearing in a yellow overalls and handcuffs, didn’t react in a dignified way.

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The judge also considered the quantity. Although the fundraiser for Anthony collected almost $ 500,000, Anthony’s father said that his family had not received these funds yet. Failing in the case meant that the family tried to maneuver, which also charges their funds.

After interrogation, the District Prosecutor of Collin, Greg Willis, told journalists the priority of his office, including subsequent steps, including the review of the Police Investigation in Frisco and presenting the case of the Great Jury in order to find out whether Anthony will probably be accused and the trial.

“We are afraid that as prosecutors it is justice, truth and responsibility, so we will go where the facts lead us,” said Willis.

Rapper Tay-K convicted of murder for the second time in Texas

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