Tag: bias

Hillary Clinton Statement on the Death of Alton Sterling

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On Wednesday, Hillary Clinton commented on the death of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Sterling was shot and killed during an arrest. Videos of the arrest seemingly show that his death was unnecessary. The investigation into Sterling’s death has been turned over to the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights and the two officers involved have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. Clinton released a statement in which she says that she is glad the Department of Justice has taken over the investigation, and called for justice reform to rebuild the trust between the public and law enforcement.

“The death of Alton Sterling is a tragedy, and my prayers are with his family, including his five children. From Staten Island to Baltimore, Ferguson to Baton Rouge, too many African American families mourn the loss of a loved one from a police-involved incident. Something is profoundly wrong when so many Americans have reason to believe that our country doesn’t consider them as precious as others because of the color of their skin.

I am glad the Department of Justice has agreed to a full and thorough review of this shooting. Incidents like this one have undermined the trust between police departments and the communities they serve. We need to rebuild that trust. We need to ensure justice is served. That begins with common sense reforms like ending racial profiling, providing better training on de-escalation and implicit bias, and supporting municipalities that refer the investigation and prosecution of police-involved deaths to independent bodies. All over America, there are police officers demonstrating how to protect the public without resorting to unnecessary force. We need to learn from and build on those examples.

Progress is possible if we stand together and never waver in our fight to secure the future that every American deserves.”

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News Source: USA Today

Clinton Talks Justice at Columbia University

Yesterday, Hillary Rodham Clinton was in New York to attend a number of fundraisers with Wall Street business executives, but today, she took part in the David N. Dinkins Leadership & Public Policy Forum at Columbia University where she spoke openly about the issues facing the justice system. Following protests in Ferguson, Missouri, Baltimore, and other states, Clinton had strong statements about the need to reform aspects of the justice system. While she condemned the violent measures taken by some of the protesters in Baltimore, she admitted that there is a lot of work to be done to ensure that racial bias does not hinder justice.

She said, “Not only as a mother and grandmother, but as a citizen, a human being, my heart breaks for these young men and their families. We have to come to terms with some hard truths about race and justice in America.” She went to say that we need to reconsider the system that relies on incarceration and turn our focus to a “true national debate about how to reduce our prison population while keeping our communities safe.” Clinton admitted that she didn’t have all the answers, but rising costs and incarceration rates require coming up with meaningful solutions.

This was the first time since announcing her candidacy for the presidency that Clinton has talked about a policy that could become a centerpiece of her platform. The full video from the event is available above.

News Source: Bloomberg, New York Times