Debra Saunders, Real Clear Politics:

"It’s time to end the era of mass incarceration," Hillary Clinton proclaimed in a scheduled criminal-justice speech Wednesday that gave her the opportunity to address sentencing reform in the context of the troubles in Baltimore. It was a lukewarm effort in keeping with Hillaryland rules. Say as little as possible. Offend no interest group. Let handlers alert the media that the candidate is engaging in a big policy shift that is bound to attract young voters, even if the big policy shift leaves out specific positions on, say, marijuana legalization or the death penalty.

I don’t think it was smart to combine sentencing reform and the use of force by police in the same speech. We do not know whether Baltimore police caused the death of Freddie Gray, who died from a spinal cord injury after being taken into police custody. State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby made a damning case as she announced she was charging six officers with murder or lesser charges. Still, we haven’t heard from the cops yet. People thought a white cop had killed an unarmed black youth in Ferguson, Missouri, only to learn police Officer Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown in self-defense. Sometimes facts support the very understandable suspicion that race is the defining element when police use force; think of the video of a white South Carolina officer shooting an unarmed African-American in the back multiple times. Sometimes they do not. Until the facts are in, police deserve the same presumption of innocence that is the right of every American. Clinton should have said as much.

Instead, she focused on the need to reduce incarceration rates, as keeping offenders "behind bars does little to reduce crime." This is a change of tune. The Washington Post duly noted that Clinton is breaking with her husband’s 1994 crime law, without mentioning his legislation by name. The 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act created tough penalties for drug offenders and dedicated $30 million to hire local police and build prisons. Drug Policy Alliance Executive Director Ethan Nadelmann declared he was delighted Hillary Clinton made criminal-justice reform the focus of the first major policy address since she announced her candidacy for president. But he also was disappointed that Clinton never addressed her support of draconian drug law sentences.

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