Democratic Primary Debates and news: on Crime


Tom Steyer: Focus on white supremacist violence as domestic terrorism

Extremism has been present in America for decades and sadly is on the rise because we have a racist white nationalist in the White House. Donald Trump's rhetoric has radicalized his base and inspired a wave of violence. As president, I will direct more resources to monitor, investigate, and prosecute incidents of white supremacist violence and those who incite them as acts of domestic terrorism.
Source: USA Today on 2019 Democratic primary Nov 7, 2019

Kamala Harris: FactCheck: Denied DNA evidence in 1980s; backtracked in 2018

The attack: Rep. Tulsi Gabbard said Kamala Harris "blocked evidence from being revealed that would have freed an innocent man from Death Row until the courts forced her to do so."

The context: Gabbard is referring to the case of Kevin Cooper, a Death Row inmate convicted of quadruple murder in 1983. Harris, during her tenure as attorney general, declined to use advanced DNA testing in the widely publicized case.

Last year, after the New York Times published an investigative piece on Cooper's case, then-Sen. Harris backtracked, saying, "I feel awful about this," and that she hoped the governor would order the testing. In February, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered new tests. The results are pending.

Source: S.F.Chronicle FactCheck: July 2019 Democratic Primary debate Jul 31, 2019

Kamala Harris: I chose the unpopular thing to NOT seek the death penalty

[Harris said during the debate]: "My entire career I have been personally opposed to the death penalty and that has never changed. And I dare anybody who is in a position to make that decision, to face the people I have faced to say I will not seek the death penalty. That is my background; that is my work. When I was in the position of having to decide whether or not to seek a death penalty on cases I prosecuted, I made a very difficult decision that was not popular to not seek the death penalty."

[Is that true? FactCheck by Vox.com:]

In 2004, as district attorney of San Francisco, she refused to seek the death penalty against a man convicted of shooting police officer Isaac Espinoza. She faced opposition from fellow Democrats; Sen. Dianne Feinstein called for the death penalty at the officer's funeral. But Harris didn't budge--an act of principle that cost her key political allies (as she received almost no support from police groups during her first run for attorney general in 2010).

Source: Vox.com FactCheck on July 2019 Democratic Primary debate Jul 31, 2019

Kamala Harris: Learn from public health model and focus on prevention

On prevention: "There seem to be two positions for DAs and AGs to take: tough on crime and soft on crime. I believe there's a third way forward: smart on crime," Harris told the audience about her efforts to address the state's revolving-door prison system--a system so dysfunctional that the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the prison population be drastically reduced by 2013. "We need to learn from the public health model and focus on prevention," Harris said.
Source: Stanford Law School press release on 2019 Democratic Primary Oct 31, 2011

  • The above quotations are from Democratic Primary Debates and news coverage during 2019.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Crime.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Andrew Yang on Crime.
  • Click here for more quotes by Deval Patrick on Crime.
2020 Presidential contenders on Crime:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN) 		Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org!
Click for details -- or send donations to:
1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140
E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org
(We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Dec 11, 2020