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
Luigi Mangione, 26, in police custody in connection with the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO
New York authorities have identified 26-year-old Luigi Mangione as an individual of interest in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
According to police, a McDonald’s worker recognized Mangione in a photograph taken by NYPD Crime Stoppers and called authorities to report that he was eating at the restaurant, which led to his arrest.
Police say Mangione was carrying an anti-corporate manifesto, false identification and a ghost gun.
“It fits the description we were looking for,” Mayor Eric Adams said. An early NYPD report drew criticism online for calling the suspect a “light-skinned male” fairly than simply saying he was white.
The New York Post reports that Mangione previously attended the University of Pennsylvania, was valedictorian of the highschool in 2016 and had ties to Towson, Maryland. His social media posts indicate motivation related to dissatisfaction with the health care industry.
The shooting gained national attention because of the lukewarm response to Thompson’s death from many voters, who criticized the high insurance denial rate and greed that contributed to the American loss of life.
NYPD officers will now travel to Pennsylvania to query Mangione. Watch the entire press conference below:
Crime
OJ Simpson’s audio testimony claims have been proven false
Iroc Avelli, OJ Simpson’s former bodyguard, claimed to have a recording of the late NFL player admitting to killing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. According to .evaluation of the audio recording showed the claim to be false.
In June 2024, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) contacted the Bloomington, Minnesota police department to realize access to thumb drives confiscated during Avelli’s 2022 arrest.
Bloomington Police Department arrested Avelli for alleged assault in 2022; upon arrest, the police seized Avelli’s backpack and obtained an order to gather relevant evidence on the scene. The backpack contained multiple flash drives that the previous security guard said contained Simpson’s confessions.
According to Peasant! News“search warrant filed in Hennepin County requested by Officer George Harms seek for image pendrives in order that “a full forensic examination could possibly be carried out on all of the pendrives to acquire the recording.”
The Bloomington Police Department didn’t return the drives, opting as an alternative to conduct an internal forensic examination. After a digital forensics specialist examined the drives, Bloomington police didn’t disclose any information of “probative value” to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The further investigation into the Simpson and Goldman murders is strange because on October 3, 1995, OJ Simpson was acquitted of all charges. The former San Francisco 49er maintained his innocence until his death from cancer on April 11, 2024.
After his acquittal, OJ Simpson continued to benefit from his fame. In 1996, the Buffalo Bills player published a book titled If I Did It: Confessions of a Killer. Many found the book’s title and content distasteful and criticized it Naked weapon the actor’s constant presence in celebrity culture.
However, many individuals imagine that Simpson’s acquittal ought to be enough to just accept his presence in all spaces. BLACK ENTERPRISES reports on rapper Cam’Ron’s response to criticism after Simpson was invited on his sports show before his death.
The It is what it’s the host and businessman believes that the accusations – proven in court – shouldn’t result in ostracization. Cam’Ron believes that Simpson’s race may have played a job in continuously questioning his innocence throughout his life.
“Look, if he was guilty, we wouldn’t have him on the show,” he said. “You wish to proceed convicting an innocent man. He is innocent. If it was another person, whiter, you’d all say, “Oh, he’s innocent.” TO BE reported.
It appears that the hearings and investigation into Orenthol James Simpson’s role, or lack thereof, in his ex-wife’s murder will proceed even after his death.
Crime
Suspect charged with fatally shooting 3-year-old on Thanksgiving Day
Tatisha Refuge, a 47-year-old New Orleans resident, turned herself in to authorities after the death of 3-year-old Rudy Ratliff. Refuge is charged with “manslaughter by negligence.”
Rudy’s mother, Leshawn Ratliff, lives in Texas but visited Refuge, her foster mother, in the previous few days of Thanksgiving. Nov 8 News.
“I came here on Saturday to pick up my older son. He was here over Thanksgiving break, and I came down on Saturday to pick him up so we could go home on Sunday and they could go back to school on Monday.” Ratliff he said.
While playing UNO, Refuge’s unsecured gun fell from her belt and fired, striking Rudy. Ratliff she recounted how the scene unfolded when she discovered Rudy had been shot.
“I began seeing blood coming out of his chest. That’s once I knew he had been shot. So I called 911.
The mother didn’t wish to wait for 911. Instead, she decided to take Rudy to University Medical Center for treatment. She said that after they arrived at the ability, Rudy seemed to be alive. Unfortunately, 20 minutes later she was informed of his death.
Tatisha Refuge has been charged with negligent homicide within the shooting death of 3-year-old Rudy Ratliff. #Khou11 @AmandaHTV
https://t.co/BFIeGhAHYG— KHOU 11 Houston News (@KHOU) December 4, 2024
Ratliff she nurtured her relationship with Refuge and is torn now that the accusations involve her foster mother.
“It was a random shooting. His grandfather’s gun fell. It wasn’t within the secure. It wasn’t within the gun position. I believe it went into the pocket and fell out and shot my son,” Ratliff said. “I understand it was a mistake. I imagine in my heart that it was a mistake. I just don’t understand. I just don’t understand.
The grieving mother began a GoFundMe and is asking the general public for help with Rudy’s burial. To support the Ratliff family of their time of need, click here.
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