WASHINGTON, DC - Vice President Kamala Harris, the nominee of the Democratic party in the 2024 election, has been publicly called out by 180 leaders of advocacy groups for incarcerated people in a letter asking that she address allegations of "mass incarceration" in her campaign platform.
In the letter published by Commit2Reform.com, the authors who describe themselves as "leaders in the movement to reform our criminal justice system and remedy the harms of mass incarceration" call upon her to "resist" framing herself as a "'tough-on-crime' prosecutor." They also ask her not to refer to President Donald Trump as a "criminal."
Seemingly this isn't out of a concern for mischaracterizing President Trump or for Harris misrepresenting her problematic prosecutorial record. Rather they complain that Harris using words "like 'criminal' and 'felon' paint with a broad brush that stains more than 70 million Americans with criminal records including the one-in-three Black men who have felony convictions."
The group continued, urging the Vice President to, "resist this outdated fear-mongering that reenforces (sic) the criminalization that locks so many of us out of voting, out of housing and jobs and freedom. This language dehumanizes us and opens the door to the ridicule and slander that has long plagued us since the Black Codes.
She claimed, "In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds — predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So, hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump’s type."
In the text of the letter, the anti-incarceration lobbyists cited Harris' attendance and speech at a 2019 criminal justice Townhall held at a shutdown prison, saying, "You spoke directly to the millions of us on both sides of the prison walls who have been personally impacted by mass incarceration about your plans to prioritize safety and justice for our families."
They described their goals, detailing a prescription for soft-on-crime policies writing, "We are committed to second chances. From restoring voting rights in Florida, Louisiana, and New York to electing reform-minded governors, state legislators, and local office holders across the country who have reduced jail and prison terms and reunited families, we have witnessed first-hand the motivating power of safe and effective criminal justice reforms in driving our community out to vote."
In the letter published by Commit2Reform.com, the authors who describe themselves as "leaders in the movement to reform our criminal justice system and remedy the harms of mass incarceration" call upon her to "resist" framing herself as a "'tough-on-crime' prosecutor." They also ask her not to refer to President Donald Trump as a "criminal."
Seemingly this isn't out of a concern for mischaracterizing President Trump or for Harris misrepresenting her problematic prosecutorial record. Rather they complain that Harris using words "like 'criminal' and 'felon' paint with a broad brush that stains more than 70 million Americans with criminal records including the one-in-three Black men who have felony convictions."
The group continued, urging the Vice President to, "resist this outdated fear-mongering that reenforces (sic) the criminalization that locks so many of us out of voting, out of housing and jobs and freedom. This language dehumanizes us and opens the door to the ridicule and slander that has long plagued us since the Black Codes.
"Shouting felon!' without acknowledging the injustices taking place daily in courts, prisons, and jails depresses the tremendous electoral potential of engaging with the tens of millions of us who have criminal convictions and the even greater number of American voters who love us."
As noted by The Hill, on day one of her presidential campaign at an event in Wilmington, DE, Harris told supporters, "Before I was elected as vice president, before I was elected as United States senator, I was the elected attorney general, as I’ve mentioned, of California. And before that, I was a courtroom prosecutor."Kamala Harris: ‘I took on perpetrators of all types … predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So hear me when I say, I know Donald Trump's type."
— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) July 22, 2024
pic.twitter.com/pBw9b7jL0y
She claimed, "In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds — predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So, hear me when I say: I know Donald Trump’s type."
In the text of the letter, the anti-incarceration lobbyists cited Harris' attendance and speech at a 2019 criminal justice Townhall held at a shutdown prison, saying, "You spoke directly to the millions of us on both sides of the prison walls who have been personally impacted by mass incarceration about your plans to prioritize safety and justice for our families."
They described their goals, detailing a prescription for soft-on-crime policies writing, "We are committed to second chances. From restoring voting rights in Florida, Louisiana, and New York to electing reform-minded governors, state legislators, and local office holders across the country who have reduced jail and prison terms and reunited families, we have witnessed first-hand the motivating power of safe and effective criminal justice reforms in driving our community out to vote."
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