(function()var src_url=”https://spshared.5min.com/Scripts/PlayerSeed.js?playList=519204331&height=&width=100&sid=577&origin=undefined&videoGroupID=155847&relatedNumOfResults=100&responsive=true&ratio=wide&align=center&relatedMode=2&relatedBottomHeight=60&companionPos=&hasCompanion=false&autoStart=false&colorPallet=%23FFEB00&videoControlDisplayColor=%23191919&shuffle=0&isAP=1&pgType=cmsPlugin&pgTypeId=addToPost-top&onVideoDataLoaded=track5min.DL&onTimeUpdate=track5min.TC&onVideoDataLoaded=HPTrack.Vid.DL&onTimeUpdate=HPTrack.Vid.TC”;if (typeof(commercial_video) == “object”) src_url += “&siteSection=”+commercial_video.site_and_category;if (commercial_video.package) src_url += “&sponsorship=”+commercial_video.package;}var script = document.createElement(“script”);script.src = src_url;script.async = true;var placeholder = document.querySelector(“.js-fivemin-script”);placeholder.parentElement.replaceChild(script, placeholder);})(); Oct 30 (Reuters) – Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton called on Friday for a …
Oct 30 (Reuters) – Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton called on Friday for a series of criminal justice reforms that include a ban on racial profiling by law enforcement and elimination of sentencing disparities for crack and powder cocaine offenses.
At a campaign event in Atlanta, Clinton also promised to sign an order to “ban the box,” prohibiting federal employers and contractors from asking about criminal histories at the initial application stage. The change would give job seekers a chance to first prove their qualifications.
“People who have paid their dues to society need to be able to find jobs,” Clinton said at a rally at Clark Atlanta University, where she rolled out an “African Americans for Hillary” group and had lunch with a group of black ministers. “We believe in second chances, don’t we?”
A few minutes into her remarks she was interrupted by protesters from the Black Lives Matters movement. ;They sang and chanted for nearly 12 minutes several feet from the podium as Clinton tried to shout over them. Rep. John Lewis, a hero in the civil rights movement, urged them to stop, as did the musician Usher.
The group of fewer than 10 protesters eventually left the college gymnasium only after the crowd of more than 2,000, most of them young African Americans, forcefully chanted, “Let her talk!”
“I’m sorry they didn’t listen, because some of what they demanded I am offering and intend to fight for as president,” Clinton said and added, “We have to come together as a nation.”
The incident occurred during a swing through Georgia and South Carolina as Clinton works to solidify her advantage in the African-American community, which could give her a crucial edge over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the early voting state of South Carolina. Both candidates have called for ending mass incarceration and reforming the criminal justice system in the United States, an issue that has become a rallying cry for younger black activists who will play a key role in choosing a nominee.
Also in her speech, Clinton promised to back legislation to ban federal, state and local law enforcement from relying on ethnicity when initiating routine investigations, and change sentencing rules so crack and powder cocaine convictions are treated the same.
All of the changes are aimed at laws that Clinton said disproportionately hurt minorities. Currently, those convicted of using crack face far steeper penalties than powder users.
“We’re talking about two forms of the same drug,” she said. “It makes no sense to treat them differently.”
Crack, the smoked “hard” form of cocaine, is cheaper than the usually snorted powder version and is more widespread in lower-income communities. Government data from 2009 showed nearly 80 percent of those convicted of crack cocaine offenses were black. Powder cocaine users tend to be white.
Sanders said he agreed with Clinton‘s initiative on ending sentencing disparities but any “serious” criminal justice reform should include his proposal to remove marijuana from the list of the most dangerous drugs outlawed by the federal government, a step Clinton has not endorsed.
“We must recognize that blacks are four times more likely than whites to get arrested for marijuana possession, even though the same proportion of blacks and whites use marijuana,” Sanders said in a statement.
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Clinton Calls For Criminal Justice Reforms, Protested By Black Student Activists
