Fox News host: Everyone benefited from high incarceration rates in the 90s
On Sunday, Fox News’ Tucker Carlson was talking with Ashley Bell about the 20/20 group, which bills itself as an alternative to Black Lives Matter, when he made the claim that “everyone benefited” from the Clinton-era tough-on-crime policies.
During the discussion, Bell noted that activists should be partnering with police to effect change, reports The Raw Story.
“You’ve got to have police officers at the table, you’ve got to have prosecutors, criminal justice experts,” Bell explained. “Which is why the first thing 20/20 did is partner with the National Association of Black Police Officers so we can have a real discussion.”
Then, Bell said that there was a real need to discuss prison and sentencing reform, to which Carlson responded, “Well, I think there is wide consensus that the Clinton administration went a little overboard in the sentencing, for sure. On the other hand, the crime rate went way down. And everyone benefited from that, particularly in black neighborhoods, which always have the highest crime rates.”
“That was good for people who live in those neighborhoods and every neighborhood,” he continued. “So you kind of have to balance those two imperatives.”
“These issues are a little bit broader than that, Tucker,” Bell replied. “When you talk about folks who have felonies who were convicted 10, 20 years ago of non-violent felonies who live in states like Georgia with a great Republican governor who is bringing jobs to our state, they can’t sign up for those jobs because they have felonies that are decades old that have nothing to do with the jobs they are trying to apply for.”
“The crime rate, again, is ticking up,” Carlson insisted. “It’s not one man’s imagination. The numbers are there. The murder rate, armed robbery, rape — those numbers are all up in major cities across the country.”
You can watch the entire exchange above.
