(TotalConservative.com) – Before she was Vice President Kamala Harris, she was California Attorney General Kamala Harris with a questionable track record, one that was brought up during the last presidential race and surely one Harris is hoping will be forgotten this time around.
In 2019, Jackie Kucinich wrote an article for The Daily Beast about Harris’s time as California Attorney General during which hundreds of black prisoners were kept in prison beyond their dates so the state could exploit these prisoners for cheap labor. Many have compared such a system to modern-day slavery.
Under Harris’s leadership, the California Attorney General’s office also imprisoned around 1,500 people for charges related to marijuana.
According to the article by Kucinich, after they were ordered to reduce California’s overcrowded prison population, Harris’s office argued that some of the non-violent offenders should stay behind bars so the prison system’s labor force wouldn’t be diminished.
A 2011 Supreme Court case ruling determined that the Golden State’s prisons were so packed that it violated constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment of the Bill of Rights. In 2014, California ordered allowing parole for second-time non-violent offenders who’ve served at least half of their sentences.
In September 2014, plaintiffs sued the state for slow-walking parole for these inmates, an allegation Harris’ office denied, arguing that benchmarks were met and that if the process was quickened for some potential parolees it would negatively impact labor programs in the prison system. One of those programs they argued would be affected used inmates to combat wildfires and paid them only $2 per diem.
During the Democratic presidential debates hosted by CNN in July 2019, Harris received a public lashing on national television over her record. Former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard raised the issue during the debate and destroyed Harris on the debate stage, creating one of the most memorable moments of that election season.
Doubtlessly, Harris is hoping people forget about this story as she and President Joe Biden push forward with their re-election campaign.
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