October 1, 2007
Obama's Take on Jena and Justice
Reacting to the controversy around the charges brought against six black high-school students in an attack on a white classmate in Jena, La., Barack Obama on Friday outlined a plan that he said would narrow disparities in the nation’s criminal-justice system.
“Like [Hurricane] Katrina did with poverty, Jena exposed glaring inequities in our justice system that were around long before that schoolyard fight broke out,” Mr. Obama, a Democrat and a U.S. senator from Illinois, said in a speech he delivered to students at Howard University.
Among other things, Mr. Obama proposed to recruit more public defenders by forgiving the student loans of people who go into the profession.
“Every person accused of a crime should have a qualified public attorney to defend them,” he said.
He also promised to rid the U.S. Justice Department of “ideologues and political cronies.” Mr. Obama criticized officials of the department, saying their “idea of prosecuting civil-rights violations is trying to roll back affirmative-action programs at our colleges and universities.”
Sara Hebel | Posted on Monday October 1, 2007 | PermalinkComments
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Putting aside the Jena issue for now, I’m not convinced it’s necessary to provide further incentives for law graduates to become public defenders. It is already very common for those aspiring to be criminal defense attorneys to first work as public defenders. This is considered a training ground for working criminal cases and learning how the other side operates. Do we really want to forgive the loans of people who will end up in lucrative defense practices?
— BA Oct 2, 10:16 AM #
I completely agree with BA. Forgiving loans should be used for professions where there is a high need and low earning potential in our country. Perhaps funding could be used for diversity and cultural education in areas like Jena. I have no idea what can help remedy this on going issue but forgiving loans for potential lucrative professions is not the answer.
— JW Oct 3, 03:27 PM #