Senator Paul continues to emphasize criminal justice reform with minority audience

This new New York Times article, headlined “Rand Paul Focuses on Criminal Justice in Talk to Black Students,” details the continued efforts by one prominent Senator to preach the need for criminal justice reform to groups historically distrustful of messages delivered by the GOP. Here are the details:

Senator Rand Paul laid out his vision on Friday for a legal system that makes it easier for people with criminal records to get jobs and to vote, telling students at a historically black college here that he believes there are still “two Americas” as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said almost a half century ago.

Mindful of his audience and, no doubt, his appearance two years ago at Howard University when the mostly black audience was often skeptical of what he had to say, Mr. Paul, a Republican and a likely candidate for president, chose his words more carefully this time during his visit to Bowie State University….

Mr. Paul tried to avoid appearing presumptuous and at one point corrected himself when answering a question about the progress that black Americans have made. “I think sometimes we think we haven’t gone very far when I think we’ve come a long way,” he said, pausing to tweak his wording. “And I say ‘we’ collectively; obviously it’s not me.”…

There were a few awkward moments at the Howard event, like when he told the students that people had told him he was “either brave or crazy” to be there.

But on Friday he kept his remarks focused on correcting inequities in the criminal justice system and expanding economic opportunity. He repeatedly condemned the harsh drug sentencing laws that put so many minority defendants behind bars. “If you smoked some pot or grew some marijuana plants in college, you ought to get a chance,” he said.

Mr. Paul also made a case for expunging criminal records of people who have been convicted of nonviolent felonies so they can find employment more easily, a stance that puts him at odds with many in his party. “As Republicans we’re big on saying, ‘Well, we don’t want people permanently on welfare; we want them to transition from welfare to a job,’” he said. “People say, ‘Well, how am I supposed to get a job? I was a convicted felon.’”…

Mr. Paul, of Kentucky, has made an effort to reach out to African­American constituencies in the past few years, drawing crowds that have traditionally voted for Democratic candidates but are curious about his libertarian brand of conservatism. He spoke at the Urban League’s summer conference in Cincinnati last summer and visited Ferguson, Mo., when protests broke out after a police officer shot an unarmed black man. He has also met with black pastors in Southern cities like Memphis and Louisville, Ky.

Some recent and older related posts:

• Senator Rand Paul links Ferguson tragedy to harms of the modern drug war
• Others starting to appreciate “Rand Paul, Criminal Justice Hero”
• “4 Reasons Conservatives Are Embracing Prison Reform”
• Senators Paul and Booker celebrate Festivus with sentencing and drug war reform tweeting
• “NAACP, right-wing foes get friendly” when it comes to prison costs
• Rand Paul begins forceful pitch in campaign against federal mandatory minimums
• “The most interesting part of [Rand Paul’s] speech was his widely anticipated defense of drug law reform.” 
• Senator Rand Paul talking up restoring voting and gun rights for felons, as well as sentencing reform