Bernie Promises To Free Half A Million Prisoners Locked Up On Drug Charges
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Senator Bernie Sanders just made a huge promise to effectively end the drug war. During the latest Democratic debate vowed to drastically reduce the U.S. prison population in his first four years in as President.
“Here’s my promise: At the end of my first term as president we will not have more people in jail than any other country,” Sanders promised. “We will invest in education, and jobs for our kids, not incarceration and more jails.”
Many have said that it is unclear, or even impossible to see, how Sanders will empty U.S. prisons by half a million people. But he has already called for a complete end to putting drug users in jail.
Sanders’ promise was made during the debate with Hillary Clinton regarding their plans to reform the criminal justice system.
When the candidates were asked how they would fight America’s high incarceration rates, Sanders made his promise
He further called the high rate of incarceration “unspeakable,” and promised to completely stop punishing people for using marijuana.
The “how” of his plan seems clear, even if many are skeptical that he will in fact follow through as promised.
The U.S. locks up nearly 2.2 million people, making it the world’s biggest jailer. China, only comes in second, jailing 1.7 million.
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