Topics in the News: Three Strikes
Amy Klobuchar on Three Strikes:
(Crime Jul 17, 2019)
Reduce mandatory minimum sentences
Amy Klobuchar on Mandatory Minimum Sentences Reform: Reduce them.No candidates have similar views. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has called for creating federal incentives "so that states can restore some discretion from mandatory sentencing for
nonviolent offenders." The Minnesota Democrat has proposed building on advances in flexibility for judges for mandatory minimums and adding more safety valves, or exceptions to minimum sentencing guidelines.
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Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Tulsi Gabbard on Three Strikes:
(Crime Jul 17, 2019)
Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences
Tulsi Gabbard on Mandatory Minimum Sentences Reform: Eliminate them.SEVEN CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; John Delaney; Beto O`Rourke; Bernard Sanders; Elizabeth Warren.
Booker, Buttigieg, and O`Rourke
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Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Beto O`Rourke on Three Strikes:
(Crime Jul 17, 2019)
Eliminate mandatory minimum sentences
O`Rourke on Mandatory Minimum Sentences Reform: Eliminate them.SEVEN CANDIDATES HAVE SIMILAR VIEWS: Joseph Biden, Jr.; Cory Booker; Peter Buttigieg; John Delaney; Tulsi Gabbard; Bernard Sanders; Elizabeth Warren.
Booker, Buttigieg, and O`Rourke say
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Source: Politico "2020Dems on the Issues"
Cory Booker on Three Strikes:
(Crime May 6, 2019)
Cut mandatory minimum sentences; end solitary for juveniles
He has been a vocal proponent of reforming the criminal justice system. Proposal for a new bill with progressive ideas like further cutting mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenses and banning racial and religious profiling. In a recently enacted
bill, Booker pushed to prohibit solitary confinement for juveniles in federal prisons.
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Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Michael Bennet on Three Strikes:
(Crime May 2, 2019)
Sponsor of bipartisan First Step reform bill
Bennet was a sponsor for the justice reform First Step Act bill in 2016,
which limited juvenile solitary confinement and reduced minimum sentences for some repeat non-violent drug crimes.
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Source: Axios.com "What you need to know about 2020"
Pete Buttigieg on Three Strikes:
(Crime Mar 27, 2019)
Death penalty is racist; mandatory minimums too
While discussing criminal justice reform at the National Action Network, Buttigieg said, "As we work to end mandatory minimums for nonviolent offenses, here too we must be intentional about fixing disparities that have deeply unfair racial consequences.
It is time to face the simple fact that capital punishment as seen in America has always been a discriminatory practice and we would be a fairer and safer country when we join the ranks of modern nations who have abolished the death penalty."
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Source: The Hill: 2020 Democratic primary & National Action Network
Cory Booker on Three Strikes:
(Crime Mar 7, 2019)
Ended "three strike penalty"; more reform is needed
He was a key force behind the FIRST STEP Act. Among other things, that law ends the "three strike penalty," helps judges avoid mandatory minimum sentences, and gives prisoners more access to rehabilitation programs. Booker will introduce the
Next Step Act, a package of further criminal justice changes. It includes provisions that would legalize marijuana at the federal level, eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine, and give [ex-]felons the right to vote.
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Source: NPR Morning Edition: Election 2020 Special Series
Stacey Abrams on Three Strikes:
(Crime Mar 30, 2017)
Voted NO on 10-year minimum for assaulting a cop
HB 258: Amends the Code regarding the aggravated assault of a peace officer by increasing the minimum sentence to ten years of imprisonment. If the aggravated assault of a peace officer involves the discharge of a firearm, none of the mandatory minimum
sentence can be probated, stayed, suspended, deferred or withheld. MY VOTE: NO. I disagree with the increase of mandatory minimums and the lack of discretion available to judges to fully determine if extenuating circumstances are present.
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Source: 2018 campaign website on Georgia voting record HB 258
Hillary Clinton on Three Strikes:
(Crime Sep 26, 2016)
End profit motivation to filling prison cells
It's just a fact that if you're a young African-American man and you do the same thing as a young white man, you are more likely to be arrested, charged, convicted, and incarcerated. So we've got to address the systemic racism in our criminal justice
system. We have to come forward with a plan that is going to divert people from the criminal justice system, deal with mandatory minimum sentences, which have put too many people away for too long for doing too little.
We need to have more second chance programs. I'm glad that we're ending private prisons in the federal system; I want to see them ended in the state system.
You shouldn't have a profit motivation to fill prison cells with young Americans. So there are some positive ways we can work on this.
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Source: First 2016 Presidential Debate at Hofstra University
Cory Booker on Three Strikes:
(Drugs Apr 28, 2015)
End mandatory sentencing for nonviolent drug offenders
I reintroduced the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2015, bipartisan legislation that would enact meaningful sentencing reforms that would make our federal sentencing policy fairer, smarter, and more cost-effective. It would reduce harsh mandatory minimums
for nonviolent drug offenders, which is the single largest factor in the growth of the federal prison population. If we want our prison population to decrease, we must reduce mandatory minimums.The bill would expand the federal "safety valve,"
which returns discretion in sentencing for nonviolent drug offenses back to federal judges. It would allow persons convicted under the pre-2010 crack cocaine laws to receive reduced sentences, a change needed to make crack
cocaine penalties more in line with powder cocaine penalties. Crack and powder cocaine are pharmacologically the same. The Smarter Sentencing Act would reduce these sentences and save our country $229 million over the next 10 years.
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Source: Brennan Center for Justice essays, p. 10-1
Rand Paul on Three Strikes:
(Crime Apr 7, 2015)
Restore federal right to vote to non-violent felons
I have worked across the aisle to reform the system with various pieces of legislation including:- Justice Safety Valve Act: Judges can depart from mandatory minimum sentencing laws if they find that it is in the best interests of justice to do so.
This would increase judicial discretion and allow judges to make individualized determinations about the proper punishment for defendants.
-
Civil Rights Voting Restoration Act: If passed, this would restore the voting rights of every non-violent felon in the country. Non-violent felons would be able to vote in federal elections only and states that do not change their laws to reflect this
would not receive federal prison funds.
- RESET Act: This bill re-classifies simple possession of controlled substances--very small amounts--as a misdemeanor rather than a low-level felony. It also eliminates the crack-cocaine disparity.
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Source: 2016 presidential campaign website, RandPaul.com, "Issues"
Hillary Clinton on Three Strikes:
(Crime Jan 1, 2015)
Where do Bill and Hillary disagree on social issues?
| Where Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton agree on Social / domestic issues |
|---|
- Both pro-death penalty
- Both strongly pro-choice
- Both strongly pro-affirmative action
- Both strongly
pro-ObamaCare
- Both strongly pro-environment
- Both strongly pro-gun control
- Both strongly pro-voting rights
|
| Where they disagree: | Bill Clinton | Hillary Clinton |
|---|
| Three Strikes: |
Tough on crime | Limit mandatory sentencing |
|---|
| Gay marriage: | Supports some gay rights | Strongly supports |
|---|
| School prayer: | No official school prayer | No religious instruction |
|---|
| School choice : | Supports charters for all | No private nor parochial choice |
|---|
| Legalize marijuana : | Keep war on drugs | Open to legalization |
|---|
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Analysis: Bill Clinton vs. Hillary Clinton on the Issues
Seth Moulton on Three Strikes:
(Crime Sep 1, 2014)
Decrease prison populations; focus on rehabilitation
I support strong, bipartisan action to decrease prison populations and focus our attention on rehabilitation, not incarceration. We incarcerate far more non-violent offenders per capita than any other developed nation, it's costing our taxpayers
billions of dollars.Support for bills such as the bipartisan Justice Safety-Valve Act of 2013, which would shorten mandatory minimums and expand the judicial sentencing safety valves, is a great place to start.
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Source: 2014 House campaign website, SethMoulton.com
Rand Paul on Three Strikes:
(Drugs Jul 24, 2014)
Whites & blacks use drugs, but prisons are full of blacks
In the past two months, Paul has introduced a series of bills designed to reform the criminal justice system. The bills would abolish mandatory minimum sentences, restore voting rights to some convicted felons, help people expunge their criminal records
and downgrade some felonies to misdemeanors. All of Paul's proposals would benefit minorities that Paul said have been impacted by the "war on drugs." Paul said, "Even though whites used drugs at the same rate as black kids, the prisons are full of
black kids and brown kids. There are Republicans trying to correct this injustice."In February, Paul pressed Republicans in the Kentucky Senate to pass a bill that would restore voting rights to some convicted felons. It ultimately failed.
Paul plans to talk about those issues in a speech Friday at the National Urban League's annual conference in Cincinnati. He said his ideas have been well received in minority communities because "people are ready for something to happen."
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Source: Washington Times 2014 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Rand Paul on Three Strikes:
(Drugs Mar 24, 2013)
Don't promote marijuana but don't jail non-violent criminals
Q: You would like to relax some of the laws for people who possess and are smoking marijuana, and synthetic recreational drugs. Why?PAUL: The main thing I've said is not to legalize them but not to incarcerate people for extended periods of time.
With Senator Leahy, we have a bill on mandatory minimums. There are people in jail for 50 years for nonviolent crimes. And that's a huge mistake. Our prisons are full of nonviolent criminals. I don't want to encourage people to do it.
Marijuana takes away your incentive to work. I don't want to promote that but I also don't want to put people in jail who make the mistake. There are a lot of young people who do this and then later on, they get married and they quit; I don't want to
put them in jail and ruin their lives. The last two presidents could conceivably have been put in jail for their drug use, and it would have ruined their lives. They got lucky, but a lot of poor kids, particularly in the inner city, don't get lucky.
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Source: Fox News Sunday 2013 interviews: 2016 presidential hopefuls
Deval Patrick on Three Strikes:
(Crime Jan 23, 2012)
Reform mandatory sentencing law: longer time for 3rd felony
We have proposed reforms to both our Habitual Offender law and to our mandatory minimum sentencing laws to make the public safer. In the past ten years, 84 people have been convicted and sentenced under our existing Habitual Offender law for committing
three felonies. I proposed to lengthen the time before a third-time violent felon would become eligible for parole, and will support a mandatory sentence of life without the possibility of parole for anyone whose third felony is murder or a similarly
heinous act of violence. These reforms are not about sweeping up the innocent or the unlucky. They rightly focus on the worst of those who repeatedly prey on our residents. We cannot and will not pursue a strategy that categorically rejects the proper pl
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Source: MA 2012 State of the State Address
Hillary Clinton on Three Strikes:
(Crime Jun 28, 2007)
Mandatory sentences have been too widely used
We have to do all of these things:- We do have to go after racial profiling. I’ve supported legislation to try to tackle that.
- We have to go after mandatory minimums. You know, mandatory sentences for certain violent crimes may be appropriate,
but it has been too widely used. And it is using now a discriminatory impact.
- We need diversion, like drug courts. Non-violent offenders should not be serving hard time in our prisons. They need to be diverted from our prison system.
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Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University
Mike Gravel on Three Strikes:
(Crime May 23, 2007)
Eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing laws
The US incarcerates more people and at a higher rate than any other peacetime nation in the world. The number of US residents behind bars has now reached 2.3 million. We are losing an entire generation of young men and women to our prisons. We must
eliminate mandatory minimum sentencing laws. We must increase the use of alternative penalties for nonviolent drug offenders. Prisons in this country should be a legitimate criminal sanction--but it should be an extension of a fair, just and wise society
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Source: 2008 Presidential campaign website, gravel2008.us, “Issues”
Mike Bloomberg on Three Strikes:
(Crime Dec 7, 2006)
Mandatory minimum sentencing for gun crimes
Mayor Bloomberg announced the launch of a subway ad campaign that warns about the increase in the mandatory minimum sentence for illegal possession of a loaded handgun. Backed by Mayor Bloomberg, this legislation passed in June. “Illegal guns don’t
belong on our streets and we’re sending that message loud and clear,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “We’re determined to see that gun dealers who break the law are held accountable, and that criminals who carry illegal loaded guns serve serious time behind bars.
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Source: Mayoral office press release PR-428-06
Jennifer Granholm on Three Strikes:
(Crime Nov 7, 2006)
Mandatory minimum sentences for sex offenders
- Since 2003, with the assistance of the Michigan State Police, Governor Granholm has apprehended more than 2,000 fugitive felons.
- Enacted tough new laws to protect Michigan children. Governor Granholm signed legislation that keeps sex offenders
away from schools and child care facilities.
- Signed Jessica’s Law, named for nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford who was kidnapped, raped, and murdered by a convicted sex offender. The legislation creates a new 25-year mandatory minimum sentence.
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Source: 2006 Gubernatorial campaign website, granholmforgov.com
Howie Hawkins on Three Strikes:
(Crime Aug 1, 2006)
Opposes mandatory sentencing
Q: What does Hawkins think of mandatory “Three Strikes” sentencing laws?A: Doesn’t agree with mandatory sentencing.
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Source: Email interview on 2006 Senate race with OnTheIssues.org
Jesse Ventura on Three Strikes:
(Crime Jul 2, 2000)
Opposes “Three Strikes”; leave discretion to judges
I’m against legislation that puts the state or federal government on the position of caring for somebody for life for trivial reasons. That’s why I’m opposed to the Three Strikes law, as it’s now written. We should be prosecuting felons severely the firs
time around. If somebody has done a violent crime and served his time, you don’t then put him away forever for stealing cookies. Mandatory sentences are awful. They take power away from judges. Judges should be allowed a certain amount of discretion.
They should be able to treat each case individually. Three Strikes would work fine if it put people away for three violent felonies. But it’s a stupid waste of taxpayers’ money otherwise. Plus, it causes a backup in our court system, because nobody
who gets caught a third time wants to plead guilty and face certain life in prison. Legislators love tough-sounding programs like Three Strikes; unfortunately, it makes them look good at campaign time, but it causes us more problems afterwards.
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Source: Do I Stand Alone, by Jesse Ventura, p.157-8
Hillary Clinton on Three Strikes:
(Crime Aug 10, 1994)
Supports “Three Strikes” and more prison
There is something wrong when a crime bill takes six years to work its way through Congress and the average criminal serves only four.We need more police,
we need more and tougher prison sentences for repeat offenders. The three strikes and you’re out for violent offenders has to be part of the plan. We need more prisons to keep violent offenders for as long as it takes to keep them off the streets.
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Source: Unique Voice, p.189-90: Remarks at Annual Women in Policing
Page last updated: Mar 02, 2022
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