Many Holes in Candidates' Positions on Criminal Justice

By Lindsay Lazarski

The crumbling economy, taxes, and the Iraq War have soaked up the limelight when it comes to the 2008 Presidential Election. With less than one week left before voters' caste their ballots, questions about Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama's positions on incarceration and criminal justice remain unanswered.

According to the Sentencing Project, a nonpartisan research and advocacy organization, little specifics are known about the candidates' viewpoints to reform the federal prison system.

Based on information from the candidates' past records, Obama, who was once against the death penalty, currently supports it for monstrous crimes. As an Illinois State Senator, Obama also lead the charge in passing legislation that requires confessions and interrogations to be videotaped to prevent death sentencing errors in capitol cases.

Senator John McCain, who has been labeled as "tough-on-crime," is a firm supporter of the death penalty. In his past votes, during the mid-nineties, McCain showed support for restricting appeals to the death penalty and was against using the defense of racial discrimination within appeals. McCain has favored violent offenders to serve their complete sentences, with no opportunity for parole.

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Comments

[ConnieInCleveland]

In my opinion, I comes down to trust. I trust Barack Obama to follow the rule of law and the Constitution. I have tried, I can't get answers to what Sarah Palin knows, or doesn't know about the Constitution. How can we trust she would follow the rule of law? She has already been cited for "abuse of power" as governor. What makes anyone think she would not "abuse" the power of the Vice President? She stated in the debate, she thinks the Constitution gives the Vice President more power than Dick Cheney is using? More of the same is bad enough, but "more" than the same would be worse.