During a discussion on the opioid crisis at the CNN/New York Times Democratic primary debate, Sen. Kamala Harris unintentionally reminded us of her propensity towards imprisoning. Harris joined many of her fellow candidates in swearing to send to prison all of the executives at pharmaceutical companies who were involved in actively propagating the opioid crisis. It’s clear the former prosecutor still loves sending people to prison.
Harris also used the time to discuss to the larger “failed war on drugs.” The same woman who imprisoned more than 1,000 people for pot-related offenses criticized the mass incarceration of nonviolent offenders. These proposals, all of which fall under her broad plan for reforms to the justice system, directly run in opposition to her draconian prosecutorial record while district attorney of San Francisco and attorney general of California. Her calls to end mass incarceration fall flat when innocent people who fell prey to her prosecutorial misconduct are still in prison.
