Why the hell do Republicans hate criminal justice reform?

[The Arizonan]

Why is it that Republicans hate criminal justice reform or anything that could benefit convicted felons? The criminal justice system gives very harsh penalties for crimes that aren't that serious like possession of marijuana or stealing a smartphone.

[ajc0918]

Because criminal justice reform would benefit minorities. And Republicans don't care about minorities.

[Santander]

Why is it that Republicans hate criminal justice reform or anything that could benefit convicted felons? The criminal justice system gives very harsh penalties for crimes that aren't that serious like possession of marijuana or stealing a smartphone.

First-time small drug possession or petty theft are not felonies.

[TheSaint250]

If criminal justice reform is making sure there is no bias in verdicts then go for it.

If it's decriminalizing all drugs then I'm against it.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Mainly cause of the huge crime wave from the 1970s-early 1990s and many republicans grew up then . Also the tough on crime policies of the 1990s worked so that's why they continue to support it .


As for me I support decriminalizing or making  drug possession a misdemeanor.


On the idea of giving felons voting rights my answer to that is heck no

[The Arizonan]

If criminal justice reform is making sure there is no bias in verdicts then go for it.

If it's decriminalizing all drugs then I'm against it.

Marijuana should be decriminalized on a federal level.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Why is it that Republicans hate criminal justice reform or anything that could benefit convicted felons? The criminal justice system gives very harsh penalties for crimes that aren't that serious like possession of marijuana or stealing a smartphone.

Because Republicans, even secular ones, have some really weird ideas about virtue, success, and destiny. That conviction for a crime is some sort of judgement by God or the universe, and that there's no point in even trying to rehabilitate people with 'bad karma' or whatever. (And besides, if they truly reform, fate will reward them all on its own.)

[dead0man]

For the same reason some Dems don't want to reform, as a recent example, Title IX maybe?  A kneejerk defense of "their own".

person A:"why would you want to reform the criminal justice system/Title IX?  Are you saying there is something wrong with it?  What's wrong with you?"

person B:"well, here is a list of things wrong...<list>"

Person A:"nuhuh!, you just hate cops/women!"

Why is it that Republicans hate criminal justice reform or anything that could benefit convicted felons? The criminal justice system gives very harsh penalties for crimes that aren't that serious like possession of marijuana or stealing a smartphone.

First-time small drug possession or petty theft are not felonies.

and yet there are many thousands of Americans growing old in prison for just that.

[Santander]

Why is it that Republicans hate criminal justice reform or anything that could benefit convicted felons? The criminal justice system gives very harsh penalties for crimes that aren't that serious like possession of marijuana or stealing a smartphone.

First-time small drug possession or petty theft are not felonies.

and yet there are many thousands of Americans growing old in prison for just that.

I understand very well that once you're in the system, even for a minor offense, it is very easy to fall into a cycle of imprisonment. That is a problem. But the felony threshold for first time drug possession is quite high, so anyone who is in prison is not there for getting caught with a joint in their pocket... they are there for either dealing drugs or possessing stupid and unnecessarily large amounts of drugs that represents intent to distribute, and most of them are not first-time offenders. I'm sorry, but I consider dealing drugs to be a serious crime and an inherently violent act.

People losing their jobs because they're stuck in jail and can't afford bail for a minor drug possession offense is tragic and leads to a destructive cycle. We should fix the system to prevent people who make mistakes from entering a system intended for criminals. But those people would not have ended up in state prison anyway.

In many countries, any criminal record can ruin your life. America is actually a rare exception where misdemeanors are something middle-class folk can basically laugh off as youthful indiscretion.

[Badger]

That's a rather Broad overstatement. Republicans and some states have actually led the way for sensing reforms on a basis of fiscal conservatism. My own Governor Kasich is a prime example. Likewise many conservatives have led the charge in repealing capital punishment statutes on the same basis. Again, just look at the state of Nebraska.

[Zioneer]

Mainly cause of the huge crime wave from the 1970s-early 1990s and many republicans grew up then . Also the tough on crime policies of the 1990s worked so that's why they continue to support it .


As for me I support decriminalizing or making  drug possession a misdemeanor.


On the idea of giving felons voting rights my answer to that is heck no

What about giving ex-felons their voting rights back? There are plenty of states who make it extremely difficult to get your voting rights back after serving a prison sentence.

[TheSaint250]

Mainly cause of the huge crime wave from the 1970s-early 1990s and many republicans grew up then . Also the tough on crime policies of the 1990s worked so that's why they continue to support it .


As for me I support decriminalizing or making  drug possession a misdemeanor.


On the idea of giving felons voting rights my answer to that is heck no

What about giving ex-felons their voting rights back? There are plenty of states who make it extremely difficult to get your voting rights back after serving a prison sentence.

I personally think that felons should be given the right to vote, but I'd have to look into it more.

[OSR stands with Israel]

Mainly cause of the huge crime wave from the 1970s-early 1990s and many republicans grew up then . Also the tough on crime policies of the 1990s worked so that's why they continue to support it .


As for me I support decriminalizing or making  drug possession a misdemeanor.


On the idea of giving felons voting rights my answer to that is heck no

What about giving ex-felons their voting rights back? There are plenty of states who make it extremely difficult to get your voting rights back after serving a prison sentence.

If it's a  violent crime , or they committed a major robbery no they shouldn't get their voting rights back . If it's drug possession yes but that's cause they shouldn't be felonies in first place

[Tekken_Guy]

Because these reforms could get violent criminals off the hook and released back into the public. Until we can assure this doesn't happen even I wouldn't support it.

[KingSweden]

Mainly cause of the huge crime wave from the 1970s-early 1990s and many republicans grew up then . Also the tough on crime policies of the 1990s worked so that's why they continue to support it .


As for me I support decriminalizing or making  drug possession a misdemeanor.


On the idea of giving felons voting rights my answer to that is heck no

What about giving ex-felons their voting rights back? There are plenty of states who make it extremely difficult to get your voting rights back after serving a prison sentence.

If it's a  violent crime , or they committed a major robbery no they shouldn't get their voting rights back . If it's drug possession yes but that's cause they shouldn't be felonies in first place

I can understand the argument for denying the franchise to parolees/those on probation, even if I don't agree myself. Anything after that is ludicrous. They've paid their debt to society by going to prison.

[Santander]

I can understand the argument for denying the franchise to parolees/those on probation, even if I don't agree myself. Anything after that is ludicrous. They've paid their debt to society by going to prison.

Do you support said felons to buy guns? It doesn't make sense to say that felons can have one constitutional right restored and not others.

I support felon voting, even in prison, except for those convicted of electoral fraud and felon gun ownership for non-violent felons, except for those convicted of treason, sedition, or mutiny, which I think should carry mandatory death penalties. As stated before, I consider dealing drugs to be inherently violent, so no right to bear arms for drug dealers.

[RFayette]

In many countries, any criminal record can ruin your life. America is actually a rare exception where misdemeanors are something middle-class folk can basically laugh off as youthful indiscretion.

Out of curiosity, in which countries are criminal records the most life-ruining?  My impression is that the United States is fairly far on the punitive end of that scale, but I'm not too familiar with how other countries handle crime.

[Reaganfan]

Because most working class whites don't give two craps about criminals. They joyfully share stories about crackheads accidentally blowing themselves up in a methlab and say things like "Good riddance".

Liberals and African Americans get angry and say "WHITE PEOPLE DON'T CARE WHEN A COP SHOOTS A BLACK CRIMINAL!"

Well...I'll tell you something else. White people don't care when a cop shoots a WHITE criminal, either. I think white working class voters are very anti-crime. Period.

[Devout Centrist]

Because most working class whites don't give two craps about criminals. They joyfully share stories about crackheads accidentally blowing themselves up in a methlab and say things like "Good riddance".

Liberals and African Americans get angry and say "WHITE PEOPLE DON'T CARE WHEN A COP SHOOTS A BLACK CRIMINAL!"

Well...I'll tell you something else. White people don't care when a cop shoots a WHITE criminal, either. I think white working class voters are very anti-crime. Period.

Sometimes people make the factually wrong take on an issue more than others. In this case, much more than others.

[MasterJedi]

Because most working class whites don't give two craps about criminals. They joyfully share stories about crackheads accidentally blowing themselves up in a methlab and say things like "Good riddance".

Liberals and African Americans get angry and say "WHITE PEOPLE DON'T CARE WHEN A COP SHOOTS A BLACK CRIMINAL!"

Well...I'll tell you something else. White people don't care when a cop shoots a WHITE criminal, either. I think white working class voters are very anti-crime. Period.

I agree, need to crack down on all the WWC criminals out there that get off easy. Need to punish you guys just as harshly as the poor and minorities, 25 year stints for small offense and then maybe you'll open your eyes.

[Rookie Yinzer]

Because criminal justice reform would benefit minorities. And Republicans don't care about minorities.

[darklordoftech]

The Republican ideology is protecting in-groups from out-group bogeymen that seem threatening such as socialism, crime, atheism, terrorism, etc. They have a disciplinarian mindset that believes in punishing those who break the rules. A "law and order" mindset lends itself to being a Republican.

[Santander]

In many countries, any criminal record can ruin your life. America is actually a rare exception where misdemeanors are something middle-class folk can basically laugh off as youthful indiscretion.

Out of curiosity, in which countries are criminal records the most life-ruining?  My impression is that the United States is fairly far on the punitive end of that scale, but I'm not too familiar with how other countries handle crime.

The US is quite punitive to felons, but job applications and such in the US generally only ask about felony convictions, and not all criminal convictions like they do in other countries. I believe the US is also quite progressive when it comes to "ban the box" legislation, although that is partly because the criminal justice system is rather cruel compared to some European countries.

[RFayette]

In many countries, any criminal record can ruin your life. America is actually a rare exception where misdemeanors are something middle-class folk can basically laugh off as youthful indiscretion.

Out of curiosity, in which countries are criminal records the most life-ruining?  My impression is that the United States is fairly far on the punitive end of that scale, but I'm not too familiar with how other countries handle crime.

The US is quite punitive to felons, but job applications and such in the US generally only ask about felony convictions, and not all criminal convictions like they do in other countries. I believe the US is also quite progressive when it comes to "ban the box" legislation, although that is partly because the criminal justice system is rather cruel compared to some European countries.

That's interesting.  So places like Norway which have fairly luxurious prisons and light sentences....only to slap people with a criminal record that's a de-facto "never employable again" sentence?

[Badger]

Because most working class whites don't give two craps about criminals. They joyfully share stories about crackheads accidentally blowing themselves up in a methlab and say things like "Good riddance".

Liberals and African Americans get angry and say "WHITE PEOPLE DON'T CARE WHEN A COP SHOOTS A BLACK CRIMINAL!"

Well...I'll tell you something else. White people don't care when a cop shoots a WHITE criminal, either. I think white working class voters are very anti-crime. Period.

Naso, if 99% of what you think you "know" about the mindset of African-Americans, or even most white liberals, wasn't Source from Fox News, Breitbart, and other b******* internet memes, your entire worldview would do a 180. As it stands though, you are safely ensconced in a bubble that has little to do with reality.

Just thought you might want to look into that.