Bill Stuntz, at Less Than the Least, has an interesting post up suggesting that disproportionate blame for the "social catastrophe" that is our mass incarcerative state falls to the Democrats. He argues that while Republicans can simply talk these deeply problematic anti-crime policies (viz, Willie Horton), the Dems actually have to deliver on them (viz, Clinton's execution of retarded murderer Ricky Ray Rector). I probably wouldn't let off Republicans so lightly, but I agree with the premise: Democrats have bent over backwards to establish their bona fides on crime. This is one of the reasons many criminal law progressives dislike the Clintons. Hillary continues the pandering tradition today by opposing retroactive application of new crack sentencing guidelines.
Interesting commentary on this piece comes from Doug Berman here, Simple Justice here, and the Cloakroom here.
If you really want to flashback to some campaign nastiness, watch GWB's Willie Horton ad here.
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