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Friday, September 20, 2013

Rand Paul: Misguided Sentencing Laws Hurt Black Defendants

Sen. Rand Paul told his Senate colleagues Wednesday that the nation’s mandatory minimum sentencing laws disproportionately affect the black community and need to be changed — putting the Kentucky Republican at the front of a push on Capitol Hill to move away from decades of punitive drug policies.

Mr. Paul is thought to be laying the groundwork for a presidential run in 2016 and has been busy making the case that his libertarian brand of Republicanism can broaden his party’s appeal with minority groups that turned out heavily for President Obama in the 2008 and 2012 elections.

Testifying before the SenateJudiciary Committee, Mr. Paul’s remarks fell in line with several of his colleagues on the panel, who agreed that Congress should give judges more leeway in sentencing to reduce the size of the nation’s prison population and save taxpayers money.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

So from now on, the consequences of illegal activity will be less onerous.....go ahead and do illegal stuff - we'll go easy on you....

The purpose of the punishment is to deter the illegal activities....

I think he's go this backwards - just to win some votes...but wait a minute - don't you lose the right to vote if you have been convicted at a certain level?....I thought only Democrats pulled that kind of crap!

Anonymous said...

It is desporportional to blacks. They dispoportionally commit crime. They make up less than 14% of the population, but commit 52% of the murders!!

Anonymous said...

It's like hiring & firing. You either qualify or you don't. If the shoe fits___

Anonymous said...

Whites are more likely to possess cocaine than blacks, who are more likely to possess crack cocaine. It's the same drug folks.

Anonymous said...

They may be convicted felons, true. That's why they use all the dead people's names and vote for the neighbors who they know aren't going to the polls! 6 votes each!