Bonus: The Criminal Justice Legacy of George H.W. Bush
Following his death last month former president George H.W. Bush was eulogized as a moderate who carried himself with dignity and grace, recalling a kinder and gentler era in American politics.
But Bush's record on criminal justice tells another story. From the Willie Horton ad to the Oval Office speech in which he dangled a bag of crack before the camera, Bush weaponized tough-on-crime rhetoric laden with racial dogwhistles, pushing drug-war policies that led to mass incarceration and worse.