Crime
Joe Biden defends 1994 crime bill: ‘Every black mayor supported it’ and continues to oppose police funding
Former Vice President Joe Biden admits that parts of the 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act that led to mass incarceration within the United States and continues to devastate Black and brown communities were a “mistake,” but reiterated that he was met with with broad support from black leaders and that he continues to oppose police funding.
During a town hall in Philadelphia on Thursday, Biden, the bill’s lead creator, said times were different then. “The Black Caucus voted for this decision, all the black mayors supported it,” he said.
By touting the Violence Against Women Act that was a part of the bill, Biden placed blame on states for harmful parts of the laws, reasonably than arguing that there was something inherently improper with the bill itself.
“But this is where the mistakes came in,” he said. “The mistake was what the states did locally.”
What Biden conveniently leaves out are the state incentives included within the bill. He also disregarded how Democrats push “tough on crime” rhetoric when it’s convenient and discuss social justice when it’s not.
“The liberal wing of the Democratic Party is for 100,000 cops. The liberal wing of the Democratic Party is for 125,000 new state-run prison cells,” Biden said in 1994 on the Senate floor. “I would like to see the conservative wing of the Democratic Party.”
Following the passage of the bill, signed by then-President Bill Clinton, many states soon adopted their very own version of “three strikes” laws and were granted Truth in convictions construct and expand prisons. Additionally, the AtlanticTodd S. Purdum reports: “A 2002 Research by the Urban Planning Institute found that between 1995 and 1999, nine states adopted such laws for the first time, while 21 others changed existing laws to qualify for the funds. By 1999, such laws existed in a total of 42 states. At the same time, many states have passed their own, more stringent sentencing laws, which have only exacerbated this trend.”
Criminal Act had widespread black support, but not “every black mayor,” as Biden said. The NAACP then called it “a crime against the American people” When it passed in 1994, it did so with the assistance of the overwhelming majority of the Congressional Black Caucus and with the support of Black NIMBY community leaders who believed that increasing criminal penalties would save “good” black children from the “bad” black children who were allegedly involved into criminal activities. Professor Michelle Alexandra he explained that some leaders were reluctant to support the bill and expected reinvestment in Black communities – in schools, higher housing, health care and jobs. But that did not occur.
Before the 1994 crime bill could pass the House, Clinton agreed to remove Sec Racial Justice Act– which might allow incarcerated people to challenge their death sentences based on data showing that racial bias was an element during their trial.
The bill also removed $3.3 billion – two-thirds of which got here from prevention programs – and a provision that may have allowed 16,000 low-level drug offenders to be released early.
Today, the United States is the most important prison guard on the planet. In 2019, the previous vice chairman, speaking in regards to the crime bill at a breakfast in Washington held to have a good time Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s ninetieth birthday, said:This was a giant mistake that was made. “The experts told us ‘there’s no going back with crack’… it’s a generation-long trap.”
Despite this reality, and as protests against police violence shock and change the world, Biden remained steadfast in his opposition to The Movement for Black Lives calls for opposition to police funding. But he reiterated his position that nobody must be imprisoned for drug use, that marijuana must be decriminalized and that folks with a history of cannabis possession must be cleared. Instead of prisons, he said the United States should as an alternative construct drug rehabilitation centers and make treatment mandatory.
Of course, not all drug use is problematic, and mandatory rehabilitation just isn’t much different from a jail sentence. Moreover, most researchers agree that there isn’t a evidence that mandatory rehabilitation works. – according to a world evaluation by Boston Medical Center.
After a town hall meeting in Philadelphia, Stef Feldman, a Biden campaign staffer, tweeted that Biden was discussing “Crime Bill 86,” not the 1994 crime bill. In fact, Biden sponsored and co-authored the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 ., which created recent mandatory minimum sentences for drugs and sentencing disparities for crack and cocaine…which was reduced but not removed by President Barack Obama. Biden was also a co-sponsor Drug Abuse Prevention Act 1988.
He, together with a segregationist – and avowedly racist – senator. Strom Thurmond (R-SC), led Comprehensive Audit Act 1984which expanded penalties for drug trafficking and federal civil asset forfeiture, allowing law enforcement to seize property without proving the person was guilty of a crime.
With these pieces of laws in mind, perhaps the Biden campaign will likely be best served by specializing in defending “parts” of the 1994 crime bill and blaming the states for the remaining.
Crime
Founder of an AI Tech startup accused of fraud and combining numbers with investors
Joanna Smith-Griffin, 33, CEO of startup AllHere Education, Inc. dealing with AI education accused of defrauding investors.
The Southern District of New York prosecuted Smith-Griffin securities fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The grand jury indictment alleged that Smith-Griffin lied concerning the education platform’s funds and posed as a financial consultant to supply false information to investors. While acting as a financial consultant for AllHere Education, Smith-Griffin is accused of falsifying the corporate’s financial records mislead potential investors and inflate the worth of her company and its revenues.
AllHere Education is an AI-powered learning platform utilized in primary and secondary schools. Smith-Griffin has had little success integrating the K-12 platform into individual school districts in California and Georgia. However, the principal didn’t secure long-term contracts with school districts. She used these short-term partnerships to misrepresent to investors the reach and financial success of AllHere Education.
Smith-Griffin told potential AllHere investors that AllHere generated about $3.7 million in revenue in 2020, about $2.5 million in money and has major school district customers similar to New York City Department of Education (“NYC DOE”) and Atlanta Public Schools. In fact, AllHere generated roughly $11,000 in revenue in 2020, had roughly $494,000 in money, and had no contracts with many of the clients it represented, including the NYC DOE and Atlanta Public Schools.
Smith-Griffin continued to boost capital to support the startup, raising one other $10 million in funding. When the corporate collapsed financially, Smith-Griffin allegedly used the money injection to pay for an extravagant three-day wedding in Florida and a residence in North Carolina.
FBI Deputy Director James E. Dennehy commented on Smith-Griffin’s decision to prioritize her personal aspirations over the needs of an educational platform.
“Her alleged actions impacted the potential to improve the learning environment in core school districts by selfishly prioritizing personal expenses,” he said.
Smith-Griffin faces a compulsory two years in prison for the identity theft charge and a maximum of 20 years for every fraud charge. AllHere Education is currently in Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Crime
Prosecutors say Sean “Diddy” Combs is trying to obstruct justice by heading to prison
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs was trying to reach potential witnesses and influence public opinion while in prison in a bid to influence potential jurors in an upcoming sex trafficking trial, prosecutors said in a court filing during which they urged a judge to deny his latest bail request.
The government charges were filed Friday evening in federal court in Manhattan, which opposed the music mogul’s latest offer of $50 million bail. A bail hearing is scheduled for next week.
Prosecutors wrote that a review of recorded phone calls Combs made while in prison shows that he asked relations to contact potential victims and witnesses and urged them to create a “narrative” to influence the jury pool. They say he also encouraged the use of promoting strategies to influence public opinion.
“The defendant has demonstrated time and time again – even while in custody – that he’ll flagrantly and repeatedly disregard the foundations so as to improperly influence the consequence of his case. In other words, the defendant has demonstrated that he can’t be trusted to abide by the terms and conditions,” prosecutors wrote in a press release containing redactions.
Prosecutors wrote that from his behavior it might be inferred that Combs wanted to blackmail victims and witnesses into remaining silent or providing testimony helpful to his defense.
Combs’ lawyers didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Prosecutors said Combs, 55, began breaking the foundations almost immediately after being taken into custody Metropolitan Prison Center in Brooklyn after his September arrest.
He pleaded not guilty to the costs brought against him he abused and molested women for years with the assistance of a network of collaborators and employees, while silencing victims through blackmail and violence, including kidnapping, arson and physical beatings.
Two judges found he was a danger to the community and a flight risk.
His lawyers recently filed a 3rd bail application after rejecting two previous attempts, including a $50 million bail offer.
In their motion, they cited modified circumstances, including latest evidence, that they believed justified Combs’ release so he could higher prepare for his May 5 trial.
However, prosecutors said defense lawyers created the most recent bail proposal based on evidence provided to them by prosecutors, and the brand new material was already known to defense lawyers after they submitted previous bail applications.
In their presentation to the judge, prosecutors said Combs’ behavior in prison shows he must remain locked up.
For example, they said, Combs asked relations to plan and execute a social media campaign around his birthday “with the intent of influencing a potential jury in this criminal proceeding.”
He encouraged his children to post a video on their social media accounts of them gathering to have a good time his birthday, he added.
He then monitored statistics on the jail, including audience engagement, and “explicitly discussed with the family how to ensure the film would have the desired impact on potential jury members in this case,” they said.
The government also alleged that Combs made clear in other conversations that he intended to anonymously publish information that he believed would help him defend against the costs.
“Defendant’s efforts to impede the fairness of these proceedings also include his persistent efforts to contact potential witnesses, including victims of violence, who could provide strong testimony against him,” prosecutors wrote.
Crime
Celebrity chef and former NFL player Tobias Dorzon is recovering from a shooting attack
Celebrity chef and former NFL player Tobias Dorzon is recovering after being shot during an alleged robbery.
The shooting occurred on the evening of Tuesday, November 5 in Hyattsville, Maryland, when multiple suspects attempted to rob a man and woman who had just returned from dinner, based on statement from the Hyattsville Police Department.
Police said the victims were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Although authorities didn’t initially discover the victims, local council member Wanika Fisher revealed that Dorzon was amongst those attacked.
“I am disheartened and saddened by the news that Prince George’s County restaurant owner Tobias Dorzon was one of two people shot during an attempted robbery Tuesday evening in my neighborhood,” Fisher began in a news release.
She added that Dorzon, a Riverdale native, owns two “amazing” restaurants in Hyattsville and is considered a “dear” friend of hers.
“Such a terrible act could not have happened to a better person,” Fisher continued within the statement. “I offer my sincere condolences to him and the other victim, as well as their families and friends, and wish them both a speedy recovery. This type of senseless violence has no place in our county and county.”
According to Fisher, Dorzon is an “extremely talented” chef who has represented Prince George’s County on the national stage and appeared on several Food Network shows. Most recently, the 39-year-old chef participated within the Food Network’s “Last Bite Hotel,” where he made it to the ultimate 4. He also hosts “Time Out with Tobias” on ESPN.
Off-screen, Dorzon currently owns and manages a company Huncho’s house and exclusive 1123 By Chef Tobias. This spring, he was named Maryland Chef of the Year, the primary honor for somebody from Prince George’s County. In 2021 helped James Harden open his restaurant Thirteen in Houston.
Before becoming a master chef, the Maryland native played within the NFL for each the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tennessee Titans. He also had a stint playing for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League.
Every week after the shooting, Dorzon updated followers Instagram on his progress.
“I’m still here, thank you all for your prayers. See you soon…. Huncho,” he wrote within the caption of a post that included a screenshot of a tweet during which he admitted that, all things considered, he should be “God’s favorite.”
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