It was ravaging our cities and the folks trapped next to dope dealers wanted dope dealers and abusers put away. Dick Gregory was among those pushing for harsher punishments, that reactionary conservative. Differential sentencing did not happen due to the conspiracy theory that is commonly bandied about.
Of the several false premises contained within this legislation is the idea that drug dealers and drug abusers are "nonviolent" because they were convicted of "nonviolent crimes." This is like arguing that Al Capone was nonviolent because he was convicted of tax evasion. Criminals typically commit many crimes before they're finally arrested and convicted and the vast majority will repeat their crimes. Even Kushner acknowledged this the other day. Drug dealers and drug abusers are generally more violent than the general population. This is why law-abiding folks try to avoid living next to them. When you arrest a lot of dope dealers and dope abusers, you take a whole lot of violent people off the street. The folks who push this sort of "reform" are usually naive, sheltered folks with few interactions with criminals. Plus, they almost always are people who will never have to live next the criminals released from prison in these moments of enlightenment.
Contrary to the propaganda, about 30% of federal inmates are imprisoned for drug convictions. Less than 20% in state prisons. These are not the only folks who will be released over time. Inmates convicted of violent crimes will eventually be released, as well. The overarching premise behind this "reform" is the biggest conspiracy theory at play in our culture: that teachers, school administrators, cops, prosecutors and judges are targeting black folks for no reason. This conspiracy theory, manufactured by the dumbest reaches of our institutions of higher learning, is called "The School-to-Prison Pipeline," and it's been all the rage among ivory-towered folks for several years. Among other contentions, folks who believe in this theory argue that cops hang around majority black neighborhoods, looking for reasons to arrest black people. The reality is the opposite. Law-abiding black folks in these areas often beg for police coverage, often to no avail. Take a look at a place like Flint, Michigan, where they struggle to operate a police force because so few cops want to stay in an incredibly dangerous, violent environment.
I expect the Left to get behind claptrap like this. Conspiratorial nonsense regarding the police and the justice system is part-and-parcel of belonging to that ideology. Righties getting behind this is shameful because many of them know better but are simply pandering. It won't work, of course. Jackasses.
If you want to see how this will work, observe what has happened over the last few years as public schools have moved away from suspensions and expulsions and have left more criminals within our schools. Check out the stats on attacks on teachers. Even teachers' unions have begun speaking out on this stuff. I'm not a fan of Tom Cotton, but his effort to set aside certain crimes so that justice system officials cannot release violent offenders was a worthwhile, albeit, quixotic effort.