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2020 presidential candidates on criminal justice

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Presidential election
Republican Party Donald Trump
Democratic Party Joe Biden
Green Party Howie Hawkins
Libertarian Party Jo Jorgensen

This page includes statements from the 2020 presidential candidates on criminal justice. These statements were compiled from each candidate's official campaign website, editorials, speeches, and interviews.

The candidates featured on this page are the 2020 presidential nominees from the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, and Green parties.

Republican Party Donald Trump
Democratic Party Joe Biden
Green Party Howie Hawkins
Libertarian Party Jo Jorgensen

Criminal justice

Republican candidates

Donald Trump

Donald Trump's campaign website says, "President Donald J. Trump and the Department of Justice are working with local law enforcement to protect American communities. The Department of Justice announced more than $98 million in grant funding through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services COPS Hiring Program to allow 802 additional full-time law enforcement officers. The Trump Administration expanded Project Safe Neighborhoods to encourage U.S. Attorney’s to work with communities to develop customized crime reduction strategies. The Department of Justice returned to their longstanding charging policy for federal prosecutors, trusting them once again to charge the most serious, readily provable offense." [source, as of 2020-06-22]

Mark Sanford

Mark Sanford's campaign website does not include a position on criminal justice. [source, as of 2019-09-10]

Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh's campaign website does not include a statement outlining his position on criminal justice. [source, as of 2019-08-30]

Bill Weld

Bill Weld said in a speech, "Addiction of all types should be treated as the national public health emergency that it is, rather than as a crime of status and a top priority for the US criminal justice system. We should also move on to bail reform, funding for reentry programs, and other criminal justice reforms not reached by the recent First Step legislation." [source, as of 2019-02-15]

Democratic candidates

Joe Biden

Joe Biden's campaign website lists the following criminal justice proposals: "Create a new $20 billion competitive grant program to spur states to shift from incarceration to prevention. Invest in educational opportunity for all. Expand federal funding for mental health and substance use disorder services and research. Expand and use the power of the U.S. Justice Department to address systemic misconduct in police departments and prosecutors’ offices. Establish an independent Task Force on Prosecutorial Discretion. Invest in public defenders’ offices to ensure defendants’ access to quality counsel. Eliminate mandatory minimums." [source, as of 2020-06-18]

Michael Bloomberg

Mike Bloomberg's campaign website says, "Mike believes the U.S. must reduce its incarceration rate and address the failings of a criminal-justice system that disproportionately harms communities of color. Keeping people out of the criminal justice system was a top priority for Mike as mayor of New York City, and he proved that it’s possible to have less crime, less incarceration, and less recidivism. He worked with law enforcement and community leaders to drive down crime by 32% and murders by half, and he reduced incarceration by nearly 40%, even as incarceration rates rose in the rest of the country. In the White House, Mike will work for safer communities and a fair criminal justice system, and end the era of mass incarceration once and for all."

Bloomberg's website includes the following criminal justice policies: "Mike supports the First Step Act but he believes that Washington can go further. Mike will push to expand alternative-to-incarceration programs that have a proven record of success, based on his work in New York City. Mike supports reform efforts that aim to reduce or eliminate cash bail for non-violent offenders. Mike will launch a nationwide initiative to cut imprisonment of young people in half by the end of his first term and eliminate juvenile incarceration for all non-violent offenders." [source, as of 2019-12-11]

Cory Booker

Cory Booker's campaign website says, "America’s justice system is deeply broken — it treats you better, as Bryan Stevenson says, if you’re rich and guilty than if you’re poor and innocent. The United States is home to only 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s incarcerated people — disproportionately people of color. For decades, this broken system has hollowed out entire communities, wasted billions of taxpayer dollars, and failed to make us safer. As president, Cory will fight to end the War on Drugs, implement bold and comprehensive reforms of our criminal justice system, and pursue restorative justice."

The website lists Booker's criminal justice priorities, including "Decriminalize marijuana, expunge records, and restore justice to individuals and communities that have been devastated by the War on Drugs. Extend clemency to individuals serving excessive sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. Reinvest in the communities most impacted by the failed War on Drugs. Remove barriers to employment for people with criminal convictions by “banning the box” and making it easier to receive occupational licenses. Reinstate the right to vote in federal elections for formerly incarcerated individuals. Provide better training for law enforcement officers on implicit racial bias, de-escalation and use-of-force. Prohibit racial and religious profiling and improve the reporting of police use-of-force incidents." [source, as of 2019-08-27]

Pete Buttigieg

Pete Buttigieg's campaign website says, "Freedom means a fair and racially-equitable criminal justice system. Experts agree that far too many people are locked up unnecessarily in the United States. As a result, we have the highest incarceration rate in the world. If we were to reduce this rate by 50%, we would still have the 28th highest incarceration rate globally–just after Nicaragua. In some cases, incarceration actually leads to an increase in crime. It’s not just a matter of closing down prisons; we also need to invest in social services and diversion programs, and allow people to rehabilitate. We need better ways to address crime and poverty, both in the criminal justice system and in society."

His website lists the following critical policy areas: "Double funding for federal grants for states that commit to criminal justice reform. Eliminate incarceration for drug possession, reduce sentences for other drug offenses and apply these reductions retroactively, legalize marijuana, and expunge past convictions. Eliminate mandatory minimums. Establish an independent clemency commission that sits outside the Department of Justice. Fight the profit motive in the criminal justice system. Reduce the criminalization of poverty and its link to incarceration. Appoint U.S. Sentencing Commissioners, an Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General deeply committed to achieving this goal. Nominate judges from under-represented backgrounds, including women, people of color, public defenders, and civil rights attorneys." [source, as of 2019-08-21]

Julián Castro

Julián Castro's website includes a plan on policing, in which he says, "We have on our hands a national crisis in public safety. If elected president, Julián Castro would treat this as the crisis it is, demanding of a federal response. This is Julián’s plan to fix this broken system: 1. End over-aggressive policing and combat racially discriminatory policing. 2.Hold police accountable. 3. Start the healing process between communities and law enforcement."

Some of the policies listed on Castro's website include: "Restrict the use of deadly force unless there is an imminent threat to the life of another person, and all other reasonable alternatives have been exhausted. Adopt technological and organizational approaches, such as the use of body cameras, to support responsible policing practices and ensure accountability of officer conduct. Establish a public national database that tracks all police officers decertified in any state or locality. Collect disaggregated data on all detentions, stops, frisks, searches, summons, and arrests. Demilitarize the police." [source, as of 2019-08-29]

Tulsi Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard's campaign website says, "Criminal justice reform is a bipartisan issue. We can bring down costs and improve outcomes by implementing alternatives to incarceration. Our outdated policies on marijuana are turning everyday Americans into criminals, tearing apart families, and wasting huge amounts of taxpayer dollars to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate people for non-violent marijuana charges. We must stand up against for-profit, private prisons and a criminal justice system that favors the rich and powerful and punishes the poor, locking up people who smoke marijuana and ignoring corps like Purdue Pharma responsible for thousands of opioid-related deaths. As president I’ll end the failed war on drugs, legalize marijuana, end cash bail, and ban private prisons and bring about real criminal justice reform." [source, as of 2019-09-26]

Kamala D. Harris

Kamala Harris’ campaign website says, “As president, there are four main levers that Kamala can exercise to change criminal justice policy. She can: (1) work with Congress and use her executive authority to change law and policy on the federal level; (2) investigate state and local actors through the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; (3) empower and incentivize behavior on the state and local level through federal funding; and (4) use her voice as president to advocate for change. And as president, Kamala will exercise every one of these levers to increase public safety, reduce our outsized criminal justice system, and make it fairer and more equitable for all.”

Her website lists the following guiding principles: “(1) End Mass Incarceration and Invest Resources into Evidence and Community-Based Programs that Reduce Crime and Help Build Safe and Healthy Communities (2) Law Enforcement’s Primary Mission is to Serve and Protect Communities. It Should Instill Trust and Be Accountable to the Communities It Serves (3) The System Must Treat Individuals Equitably and Humanely (4) The System Must Protect Vulnerable People.” [source, as of 2019-09-11]

Amy Klobuchar

Amy Klobuchar's campaign published a plan for her first 100 days in office which says she will "create a clemency advisory board as well as a position in the White House — outside of the Department of Justice — that advise the President from a criminal justice reform perspective. The clemency advisory board will investigate and review requests for clemency for federal offenses and ultimately prepare a recommendation for the President." [source, as of 2019-06-18]

Beto O'Rourke

Beto O'Rourke's campaign website says, "His plan will end the prohibition of marijuana and expunge the arrest records of those incarcerated for possessing it; end cash bail; end mandatory minimums; eliminate private and for-profit prisons; ensure police are accountable for civil rights violations; provide more funding for public defenders; and ensure the formerly incarcerated have a path to re-enter our communities."

O'Rourke's plan includes the following points: "End the federal prohibition of marijuana, and expunge the records of those who were arrested for possessing it. End the cash bail system, reducing pre-trial detention and increasing funding for public defenders. Stop the use of mandatory minimums for non-violent offenses. Eliminate private and for-profit prisons. Restorative justice programs that assist with successfully transitioning formerly incarcerated individuals back into communities. Ensure those who are incarcerated receive health care in prison. Ban the box so that a conviction does not stand in the way of a successful transition out of incarceration. Make federal scholarships like Pell Grants available to incarcerated individuals. Ensure police accountability through federal civil rights enforcement, supporting community policing. Restore the right to vote for those who have served their terms and invest in restorative justice programs that assist with successfully transitioning formerly incarcerated individuals back into communities." [source, as of 2019-08-27]

Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders campaign website says, "We are going to end the international embarrassment of having more people in jail than any other country on earth. Instead of spending $80 billion a year on jails and incarceration, we are going to invest in jobs and education for our young people. No more private prisons and detention centers. No more profiteering from locking people up. No more 'war on drugs.' No more keeping people in jail because they’re too poor to afford cash bail."

Sanders' campaign website contains the following main tenets of his criminal justice reform plan: "End Profiteering in Our Criminal Justice System. End Cash Bail. Transform the Way We Police Communities. Ensure Law Enforcement Accountability and Robust Oversight. Provide More Support to Police Officers and Create A Robust Non-Law Enforcement Alternative Response System. Ensuring All Americans Due Process. Right to counsel. Ensure Accountability and Fairness in Prosecution. Ending Mass Incarceration and Excessive Sentencing. End the War on Drugs and Stop Criminalizing Addiction. Treat Children Like Children. Reform Our Decrepit Prison System to Make Jails and Prisons More Humane. Ensure a Just Transition Post-Release. Stop The Cycle of Violence by Prioritizing the Most Serious Offenses. Provide Adequate Support to Crime Survivors. Reverse the Criminalization of Disability. Investing in Community Living. Investing in Our Communities." [source, as of 2019-08-23]

Thomas Steyer

Tom Steyer's campaign website says, "The school-to-prison pipeline benefits private prisons and the bail bond industry." [source, as of 2019-09-10]

Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren's campaign website says, "Four words are etched above the Supreme Court: Equal Justice Under Law. That’s supposed to be the promise of our justice system. But today in America, there’s one justice system for the rich and powerful, and another one for everybody else."

Warren's campaign website continues, "It’s not equal justice when a kid with an ounce of pot can get thrown in jail while a bank executive who launders money for a drug cartel can get a bonus. It’s not equal justice when, for the exact same crimes, African Americans are more likely than whites to be arrested, more likely to be charged, more likely to be convicted, and more likely to be sentenced. We need criminal justice reform and we need it now. That means ending racial disparities in our justice system. It means banning private prisons. It means embracing community policing and demilitarizing our local police forces. It means comprehensive sentencing reform and rewriting our laws to decriminalize marijuana. Equal justice also demands that everybody – no matter how wealthy or well-connected – is held accountable when they break the law. That means new laws and a new commitment to prosecuting giant corporations – and their leaders – when they cheat their customers, stomp out their competitors, or rob their workers. It means judicial nominees that follow the rule of law instead of catering to the wealthy and the well-connected. It won’t be easy. But we will make structural change to fulfill the promise of our justice system. Our democracy demands it." [source, as of 2019-08-26]

Andrew Yang

Andrew Yang's website says, "Our rates of incarceration are 4 times higher than most other industrialized countries, and it’s a national disgrace. People on both sides of the aisle now recognize that our system is badly in need of reform. Our criminal justice system is particularly punitive toward blacks and other minorities. As President I will overhaul the treatment of drug offenses and reduce our rates of incarceration over time."

Yang's website lists the following proposals: "Work to end the use of private prison facilities for federal inmates. Shift drug policy away from punishment and towards treatment. Invest money to fund innovative prison programs that decrease recidivism and increase reintegration. Invest money to support businesses that hire felons who have served their prison term. Push to reconsider harsh felony laws that prevent those who have served their prison term from reintegrating into society. Identify non-violent drug offenders for probation and potential early release. Implement Universal Basic Income which will dramatically decrease incentives for criminality and improve the functioning of individuals and communities." [source, as of 2019-08-29]

Green candidates

Howie Hawkins

Howie Hawkins' campaign website lists the following positions on criminal and civil justice: "Monitor and Prosecute White Racist Terrorists. Federal Investigations of Local Police Misconduct. Community Control of the Police. End Mass Incarceration—Treat Drug Abuse as a Health Problem, Not a Criminal Problem. Legalize Marijuana. Decriminalize Personal Possession of Hard Drugs. Drug Treatment on Demand. Decriminalize Sex Work. Fight Corporate Crime. End Warrantless Mass Surveillance. Pardon Whistle Blowers and Political Prisoners." [source, as of 2020-07-09]

Libertarian candidates

Jo Jorgensen

Jo Jorgensen's campaign website says communities should determine whether police officers are required to wear body cameras. She opposes the government hiring private companies to run prisons, solitary confinement for juveniles, mandatory minimums for people charged with drug possession, and the death penalty for drug traffickers. Her campaign website says convicted criminals should have the right to vote. [source, as of 2020-07-28]


Other policy pages

Abortion

Criminal justice

Economy

Education

Energy and environmental issues

Foreign policy

Gun regulation

Healthcare

Immigration

Impeachment

Labor

Trade


Footnotes

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2020 United States presidential election
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Republican nomination
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