New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said at a press conference Thursday the U.S. should “stop building” jails if we want to reduce the inmate population.
“It is not acceptable for us to use jails as garbage bins for human beings. We need to treat people and see them as human,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “If we want to reduce violent crime, reduce the number of people in our jails, the answer is to stop building more of them.”
“The answer is to make sure we actually build more hospitals, we pay organizers, we get people mental health care,” she said. “It’s to support communities, not throw them away.”
Rep. @AOC: "If we want to reduce the number of people in our jails, the answer is to stop building more of them … It's to support communities, not throw them away." pic.twitter.com/vj4BnNKEVV
— The Recount (@therecount) June 3, 2021
The press conference took place in New York City with Democrats Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Jamaal Bowman.
Rather than condemning the spike in violent crime across the country, Ocasio-Cortez seemingly romanticized a society with no laws. In the last year, U.S. homicides increased by 33 percent, and 63 of the 66 largest police jurisdictions experienced an uptick in a minimum of one violent crime category.
Meanwhile, the left continues to rail against law and order by calling for the defunding of law enforcement agencies. Rep. Ilhan Omar and Democrats called for Biden to reject federal contracts with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in March.
Aside from the summer of rage that the left perpetually endorsed as peaceful protests, not riots, Democrats called for no more jail time for marijuana possession a year ago.