Posted on 07/31/2024 6:43:25 PM PDT by RandFan
When Kamala Harris ran for president in 2019, criminal justice reform leaders closely scrutinized her career as a prosecutor, with some advocates branding her a “top cop” who lacked a strong progressive record.
Five years later, with the vice-president on track to become the Democratic nominee, the dynamics have fundamentally shifted. Harris’ prosecutorial history, once something of a liability among some Democrats, is now seen as a key asset as she prepares to take on Donald Trump, the ex-president convicted of 34 felonies.
...
“It’s complicated,” said Tinisch Hollins, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice, a criminal justice reform group, reflecting on Harris’ DA tenure. “Having a Black woman as DA and having Kamala be accessible to so many of us was inspirational.” She cited Harris’ Back on Track program, which gave some defendants facing their first drug charges an opportunity to access services and avoid incarceration, a model replicated in other cities. “But we were also very critical of Kamala taking a punitive-first approach,” Hollins continued, recalling Harris’ stance on school truancy. As DA, Harris championed state legislation that threatened jail time for parents if their children were repeatedly absent.
As DA and AG, Harris was also criticized for defending convictions in cases where there was evidence of innocence and prosecutorial misconduct; opposing legislation to require AG investigations into police shootings; defending the prison system in civil rights litigation, as the state’s top lawyer and clashing with sex worker rights’ groups. She declined to seek the death penalty as SFDA, but then as AG fought against a challenge to capital punishment.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Her record stinks!
‘Kamala Harris’s record as California prosecutor hurt her 2020 campaign. Will 2024 be different?’
I hope so!
She wasn’t “tough on crime” nor “soft on crime” she was just bad on crime.
If she eeks out a presidential win, her approval rating will be back into the mid 20’s by February 2025. Everyone will whine that she isn’t delivering what they wanted, but congressional republicans will subjugate themselves to help her policy objectives.
That was 2020, this is 2024. What she did as prosecutor will have no effect today.
Yep. Furthermore, don't attack her from the left for being too tough on criminals. People aren't particularly fond of crime today.
If anything, hammer her from the right for her well-publicized efforts to defund the police and raise bail money for violent rioters.
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