Over the final decade,Americans have undergone a radical shift in thinking on criminal justice. Richard Nixon first pedaled a "tough on crime" stance in his 1968 Presidential campaign, reaching out to the "silent majority" fed up with the countercultural movements of the 1960s. As the crack epidemic of the 1980s grew, and President Reagan furthered the notion,through the War on Drugs. And George H.W. Bush made crime the centerpiece of his 1988 campaign, with the now-infamous Willie Horton ad.But this week marks a turning point in criminal justice reform. President Obama became the first sitting president to tour a federal prison, and President Bill Clinton stood before the NAACP national conference and admitted that his 1994 crime bill locked up too many low-level offenders who didn't deserve the life sentences they received.Jason Hernandez was one of those offenders. He's personally witnessed the national shift on criminal justice,as he was sentenced to life without parole in 1998 on crack cocaine and methamphetamine charges. President Obama commuted his sentence, in December 2013. He discusses his original charges, and the nation's radical shift on criminal justice,and life on the outside.,
Source: wnyc.org