The Associated Press: on Crime


Eric Adams: I'll have cops' backs, but they'll have backs of the people

Asked what he would say to officers who are angry about calls to defund their departments, Adams said, "I say to my officers, 'If you don't want to be on the street anymore, then get off my streets.' I don't want to hear someone say, because they don't like what government is doing, you're not going to protect my public. No." He promised, "I'm going to have the finest officers. I will have their backs, but they're going to have the backs of the people of this city."
Source: Associated Press: 2021 NYC Mayoral press release Jul 7, 2021

Mandela Barnes: Critical of racial disparities in police actions

Barnes was outspoken in the 2018 campaign, accusing Walker of ignoring "people who look like me." Barnes also was outspoken following the Kenosha police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man. Barnes criticized Trump for visiting the city amid protests after the shooting. And Barnes was critical of how police reacted to Kyle Rittenhouse, a white teenager who shot and killed two protesters during a violent night of protests.
Source: Associated Press on 2022 Wisconsin Senate race Jul 20, 2021

Stacy Lee George: Call in National Guard to get state prisons under control

Stacy George, a corrections officer running for governor in next year's election, said prisons are dangerously understaffed and officers are quitting because of the workload. George said the staffing shortage merits calling in the National Guard to get facilities under control. "I have to ask the question: Are we really running the prisons or are the inmates running the prisons?" George said.
Source: Associated Press on 2022 Alabama Gubernatorial race Sep 26, 2021

Kamala Harris: Federal and state moratorium on death penalty

Kamala Harris said that there should be a federal moratorium on executions. The senator from California discussed the matter on National Public Radio, a day after Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California granted reprieves to 737 death row inmates and signed an executive order placing a moratorium on executions.

Harris was asked if there should be "a federal equivalent" to Newsom's order. She said, "Yes, I think that there should be."

Asked if no one would be executed if Harris was president, she responded, "Correct, correct."

As California's attorney general, Harris defended the state's use of the death penalty. But in a statement this week, she said it is "immoral, discriminatory, ineffective, and a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars." She noted that black and Latino defendants were more likely to be executed than white defendants, as were poor defendants with poor legal representation versus wealthier defendants with good legal representation.

Source: Associated Press on 2020 Democratic primary Mar 14, 2019

Kamala Harris: 2004: no death penalty for cop killer; 2019: apply to all

Harris says, "The symbol of our justice system is a woman with a blindfold. It is supposed to treat all equally, but the application of the death penalty--a final & irreversible punishment--has been proven to be unequally applied."

As Harris launched her presidential bid, she said she was running as a "progressive prosecutor." But she has drawn scrutiny from some liberals for "tough on crime" positions she held as a California prosecutor, with her stance on the death penalty among those issues.

As a district attorney in 2004, she drew national headlines with her decision not to seek the death penalty for the killer of a San Francisco police officer. That decision, announced days after the officer's death, enraged local law enforcement officials

However, a decade later, she appealed a judge's decision declaring California's death penalty law unconstitutional. While Harris has personally opposed the death penalty, she has said that she defended the law as a matter of professional obligation.

Source: Associated Press on 2020 Democratic primary Mar 14, 2019

  • The above quotations are from Columns and news articles distributed by the Associated Press on 2020 races.
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2024 Presidential contenders on Crime:
  Candidates for President & Vice-President:
V.P.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.(I-CA)
Chase Oliver(L-GA)
Dr.Jill Stein(D-MA)
Former Pres.Donald Trump(R-FL)
Sen.J.D.Vance(R-OH)
Gov.Tim Walz(D-MN)
Dr.Cornel West(I-NJ)

2024 presidential primary contenders:
Pres.Joe_Biden(D-DE)
N.D.Gov.Doug Burgum(R)
N.J.Gov.Chris_Christie(R)
Fla.Gov.Ron_DeSantis(R)
S.C.Gov.Nikki_Haley(R)
Ark.Gov.Asa_Hutchinson(R)
Former V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
U.S.Rep.Dean_Phillips(D-MN)
Vivek_Ramaswamy(R-OH)
S.C.Sen.Tim_Scott(R)
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Page last updated: Nov 03, 2024