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Updated October 27, 2024
Where do the 2024 presidential candidates stand on the issue of criminal justice, and how do their stances compare?
According to polls around the 2022 midterms, around 61% of registered voters believed that violent crime was "very important" to their voting decisions. There is a partisan divide on criminal justice’s importance; 73% of Republicans say violent crime is very important to their vote, while 49% of Democratic voters say the same.
Voter perceptions may be influenced by media coverage, conditions in their own communities rather than the national level, and public statements from political candidates; Republican candidates have emphasized crime in their campaigns.
During the pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement reignited public debate over police relations with racial minorities. 87% of black Americans say they are treated less fairly by the criminal justice system than white Americans. However, 47% of the public believe that police spending should be increased, up from 31% in June 2020. Additionally, the public remains divided over the appropriate sentencing for convicts. 41% of Democrats say that convicts spend too much time in prison, compared with 44% of Republicans who say they spend too little time. Further, though 79% of Americans believe there is some risk of innocent people being executed, 60% of Americans favor the death penalty.
Subissues:
- Human Trafficking
- Private Prisons
- Mandatory Minimums
- Capital Punishment
- Police Force
- Whistleblowers
- Cash Bail
- Marijuana Legalization
Human Trafficking
Kamala Harris (D)
Serving as attorney general in California, Kamala Harris sponsored legislation to prevent convicted traffickers of minors from keeping the financial benefits of their crimes. This bill unanimously passed out of the state senate in 2012.
The Biden-Harris Administration issued the “National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking” in 2021, which highlighted multiple past executive orders, notably including one from former President Donald Trump. The plan emphasized pillars of “prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships.”
In 2015, Harris spoke at a UCLA symposium in which she criticized California’s foster care system and its link to human trafficking.
Harris said, in a 2022 speech, that she, “placed a particular emphasis on combating transnational criminal organizations and on combating the money laundering that accompanies human trafficking,” as attorney general.
The vice president stressed, “Trafficking is an extremely heinous and profitable business. In fact, globally, human trafficking is a $150 billion business.” Harris also highlighted that domestic, agricultural, and other types of trafficking are widespread– not just sex trafficking.
Donald Trump (R)
Former President Donald Trump signed multiple executive orders to combat human trafficking.
As president, Trump also signed (in 2017 and 2018) eight human trafficking-specific bills into law that include but are not limited to the following:
- Punishments for online sex trafficking and commercial vehicle use for human trafficking
- A raised statute of limitations to ten years
- Funding, training, and prevention efforts to combat the crises
Trump released a 2019 proclamation saying, “Human trafficking is often a hidden crime that knows no boundaries. By some estimates, as many as 24.9 million people — adults and children — are trapped in a form of modern slavery around the world, including in the United States.”
Cornel West (Ind.)
Cornel West said “children are the heartbeat of our future” and that “we must end child trafficking.”
Chase Oliver (L)
Chase Oliver proposed, in a 2024 interview, reforming the immigration system to “a 21st century Ellis Island.” He claimed, “if people who want to just come here to work can legally pass through a port of entry, we can really focus on those who are wanting to do harm in the United States,” citing human trafficking as one of those harms.
Jill Stein (G)
Jill Stein's campaign website says she will “investigate and prosecute sexual violence, kidnapping, and human trafficking.”
Private Prisons
Kamala Harris (D)
Vice President Kamala Harris argued, in a 2019 plan, that private prisons are driven by profit motives and withdraw from rehabilitation efforts. She emphasized support of ending private prisons for unauthorized migrants. In 2021, President Joe Biden directed the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to move all inmates to federal facilities via executive order, though the direction did not apply to unauthorized migrant detention centers.
Donald Trump (R)
During his 2020 presidential run, the private prison industry gave large donations to Donald Trump’s campaign. As president, he used private prisons to detain immigrants and asylum seekers and agreed to long-term contracts with several companies.
Cornel West (Ind.)
Cornel West has advocated to end the prison industrial complex and hopes to institute a Prisoner Bill of Rights for the humane treatment of the incarcerated.
Chase Oliver (L)
No specific stance found.
Jill Stein (G)
Jill Stein says her administration would seek to ban private prisons and detention centers, as well as abolish "unpaid and underpaid prison labor."
Mandatory Minimums
Kamala Harris (D)
Vice President Kamala Harris expressed support, in 2019, for eliminating mandatory minimums by way of “ending mass incarceration” and reforming sentencing. She pointed to racism against black people as causing disproportionate incarcerations.
Donald Trump (R)
As president, Donald Trump signed the First Step Act, which increased the threshold for prior convictions to count toward higher mandatory minimums; this applied retroactively to those sentenced for the possession of crack cocaine. He also allowed courts to sentence less than the mandatory minimum for low-level, nonviolent convicts.
Cornel West (Ind.)
Cornel West plans to end mandatory minimums and sentence enhancement.
Chase Oliver (L)
Chase Oliver advocates for ending federal mandatory minimum sentencing stating that “a wealth of evidence demonstrates that mandatory minimums accelerate prison growth with no overall benefit to crime control.”
Jill Stein (G)
Jill Stein advocates an end to mandatory minimum sentencing and ‘three strikes’ laws.
Capital Punishment
Kamala Harris (D)
No specific stance from Vice President Kamala Harris was found. The Democratic Party removed death penalty opposition from its 2024 platform; and Vice President Kamala Harris has not been vocal against the issue. Her stance has varied in recent years.
Donald Trump (R)
Former President Donald Trump supports the death penalty on a federal level; 13 criminals were executed under his presidency by the federal government. He also wishes to institute the death penalty for drug traffickers.
Cornel West (Ind.)
Cornel West has planned to ban the death penalty and life without parole on the federal level.
Chase Oliver (L)
Chase Oliver describes the death penalty as an “aberration of justice” and promises to “immediately end the death penalty at the Federal level and work towards legislation to abolish it at the state level as well.” Oliver was opposed to the execution of Marcellus Williams in September 2024 and stated “The moral cost is too high, and we must evolve toward systems that value rehabilitation and human dignity.”
Jill Stein (G)
Jill Stein advocates for an end to the death penalty. After the execution of Marcellus Williams in September 2024 Stein posted on X, “The state of Missouri executed Imam Marcellus Khalifah Williams even though prosecutors said that he was actually innocent and wrongfully convicted. May he rest in power. We’ve seen far too many cases like this. Even one is too many. It's past time to abolish the death penalty.”
Police Force
Kamala Harris (D)
Vice President Kamala Harris argued, in 2020, that the “Defund the Police” movement rightfully would reimagine public safety and bring forth questions of priorities and budgeting. When Harris joined President Joe Biden in the 2020 Presidential Race, the administration stressed the candidates’ stances to increase, not decrease funding. Grants of $334M from the Justice Department's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services were announced in 2023 for law enforcement agencies.
Donald Trump (R)
Former President Donald Trump provided nearly $400 million for new law enforcement hiring to mitigate the police shortage. He established a commission to evaluate training practices for law enforcement officers. He also signed the Safe Policing for Safe Communities executive order which incentivized reforms in local police departments.
Cornel West (Ind.)
Cornel West plans to “shut down Cop City” and similar facilities. He wants to redistribute police funding to unarmed community-led forces and prohibit police training programs by military forces.
Chase Oliver (L)
Chase Oliver advocates for major criminal justice reform “with one goal in mind, empower people, not the government. With less than five percent of the world’s population, we host roughly a quarter of its prison population. That is simply unacceptable in a nation that styles itself as the land of the free.” Oliver also seeks to end qualified immunity and the prosecution of “victimless crimes.”
Jill Stein (G)
Jill Stein seeks to overhaul the criminal justice system, including ending the 1033 program which she refers to as the “militarization of police.” Stein advocates for “community control of police with oversight boards empowered to audit police departments, issue subpoenas, remove officers, and block rehiring of offending officers.”
Whistleblowers
Kamala Harris (D)
In April 2024, Australia requested that the U.S. drop the extradition case of Julian Assange, and when asked in an interview, Joe Biden said the the administration was “considering it.” In June 2024, a plea deal was reached between Assange and the U.S., and Assange plead guilty to one felony charge of illegally obtaining and disclosing national security material under the Espionage Act.
Donald Trump (R)
Former president Donald Trump described Edward Snowden as a "traitor," in 2023, and implied he should be executed. In 2020 however, Trump said he was considering a pardon for Snowden. In a 2021 post-presidency interview with Candace Owen, Trump defended his decision to not pardon Snowden and Assange because there were “good people on both sides… and you have some bad people on one side” and he decided to “let the courts work it out.” Trump also called Chelsea Manning an "ungrateful traitor," following her criticicm of former President Barack Obama.
Cornel West (Ind.)
Cornel West has thanked Julian Assange for exposing the truth about U.S. war crimes, and celebrated Assange's release on X. West supported Chelsea Manning and attended her sentencing. West is also a vocal supporter of Edward Snowden, calling him the "John Brown of our time."
Chase Oliver (L)
Chase Oliver has been vocal about his support for the release of whistleblowers Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and Chelsea Manning, and said that “If a candidate hasn't promised to pardon Snowden or Assange, they aren't concerned with being ‘truth tellers’...” Oliver celebrated Assange's release on X.
Jill Stein (G)
Jill Stein has said “whistleblowers are critical.” She advocates for expanding Freedom of Information laws and whistleblower protections. She said Edward Snowden is heroic, advocated for his pardon, and said her administration would seek to bring him into her administration to advise on keeping security while respecting constitutional right to privacy. She celebrated the release of Julian Assange on X.
Cash Bail
Kamala Harris (D)
No specific stance from Vice President Kamala Harris was found.
Donald Trump (R)
Former President Donald Trump does not support the abolition of cash bail. After New York had reformed its bail system, he tweeted that the state was letting out "hardened and bad" criminals.
Cornel West (Ind.)
No specific stance from Cornel West was found.
Chase Oliver (L)
Chase Oliver supports a nationwide end to cash bail. In 2020 Chase Oliver posted on X, “You know who fought to keep cash bail in California? Thats @KamalaHarris…You know who is fighting to #EndCashBail nationwide? That would be me. Hmmm the Libertarian is more progressive on Criminal Justice than the Democrat's VP nominee.”
Jill Stein (G)
Jill Stein seeks to end cash bail, saying that fines and fees “disproportionately impact poor and working class people.”
Marijuana Legalization
Kamala Harris (D)
Vice President Kamala Harris supports legalizing marijuana. Additionally, the Biden-Harris Administration announced plans, in May, to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III drug, instead of a Schedule I drug.
Donald Trump (R)
Former President Donald Trump now expresses support for the legalization of marijuana as a Schedule III drug, despite previous oppositions.
Cornel West (Ind.)
No specific stance from Cornel West was found.
Chase Oliver (L)
Chase Oliver advocates for the decriminalization of cannabis and an end to the “failed war on drugs indefinitely.” On his campaign website, Oliver says that like “the Eighteenth Amendment and its prohibition of alcohol, the criminalization of drugs simply has not worked. The black markets it has created have increased violent crime, engendered police corruption, and contributed to the rise of cartels…”
Chase says that as president, he would “immediately act” to remove all federal laws criminalizing cannabis, end regulatory hurdles for the cannabis industry, deschedule cannabis, issue full pardons for non-violent drug offenses and that he would “urge every governor to do the same.”
Oliver pledges to work with Congress to repeal the Controlled Substances Act and pass the Drug Policy Reform Act, which would decriminalize possession and use of all drugs, allow for the criminal records of users to be sealed, and restore their right to vote.
Jill Stein (G)
Jill Stein seeks to fully legalize cannabis for recreational and medicinal use with similar restrictions to alcohol. Stein also seeks to release nonviolent drug offenders from prison and begin the process of legalizing hallucinogens (LSD, psilocybin and other related substances) and fund studies on their medicinal benefits.
Stein advocates that we treat drug misuse as a health problem, not a criminal problem, and says she will “ensure drug treatment on demand.”
This blog was written by Malayna J. Bizier, News Analyst and Social Media Editor (Right bias) and Harry Ding, Content Intern (Center bias). It was reviewed and edited by Henry A. Brechter, Editor-in-chief (Center bias); Julie Mastrine, Director of Marketing and Media Bias Ratings (Lean Right bias), and Joseph Ratliff, Design Consultant (Lean Left bias). It was updated by Malayna J. Bizier.