President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha wave to the crowd after his inaugural address Jan. 20, 2009, on the west steps of the U.S. Capitol.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: How do you think President-elect Obama will affect the way you see yourself as a child of an incarcerated parent?

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Barack Obama listens to a briefing by New York City police officers in their Real Time Crime Center at their headquarters in New York City.

We’re about 72 hours from election day and here’s an article by the New York Times on the presidential candidates’ stance on crime. This article follows the article we published earlier in the week that reported that the candidates’ stance has not been clearly articulated and discussed during the campaign.

In past elections, bringing up the “tough-on-crime” card spurred Republican support. During the 1988 campaign between Vice President George H. Bush and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, for example, notorious attack ads depicted Dukakis as weak on crime by showing prisoners going in and out of jail. The most controversial element of the ads was the story of Willie Horton, an  African-American prisoner  who committed a terrible crime while furloughed. The ad played to mainstream America’s racial prejudices and fear.

The Times article takes a look at John McCain’s and Barack Obama’s history on the crime and why, 20 years after the “Willie Horton” ads, it has not been discussed much:

But compared with many past presidential elections, Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain have paid little attention to issues of criminal justice as they compete for the White House.

The change is a reflection, experts say, of 15 years of declining crime rates, an electorate less anxious about public safety and the fact that crime and law enforcement issues are less partisan than they used to be.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Are you considering the candidates’ views on incarceration and criminal justice in your voting decision? Which way are you leaning and why?

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The crumbling economy, taxes, and the Iraq War have soaked up the limelight when it comes to the 2008 Presidential Election.  With less than one week left before voters’ caste their ballots, questions about Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama’s positions on incarceration and criminal justice remain unanswered.

According to the Sentencing Project, a nonpartisan research and advocacy organization, little specifics are known about the candidates’ viewpoints to reform the federal prison system.

Based on information from the candidates’ past records, Obama once against the death penalty, currently supports it for monstrous crimes.  As an Illinois State Senator, Obama also lead the charge in passing legislation that requires confessions and interrogations to be videotaped to prevent death sentencing errors in capitol cases.

Obama has connected issues of unemployment and poverty within certain communities to the disproportionally high rate of crime and incarceration of those who live there.

Senator John McCain who has been labeled as “tough-on-crime” is a firm supporter of the death penalty. In his past votes, during the mid-nineties, McCain showed support for restricting appeals to the death penalty and was against using the defense of racial discrimination within appeals. McCain has favored violent offenders to serve their complete sentences, with no opportunity for parole.

McCain has also offered the alternative of rehabilitation programs for first time drug offenders and has voted for more community police to prevent hate crimes.

Both candidates have vocalized support for re-entry programs once a prisoner has been released, but a clear and concise picture as to what the programs actually look like and involve is unknown.

On November 4th, regardless of who is elected into the oval office, Ryan King, a policy analyst for the Sentencing Project, says incarceration issues should must become a priority for the next President.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Are you considering the candidates’ views on incarceration and criminal justice in your voting decision? Which way are you leaning and why?

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Lindsay A. Lazarski attends CUNY Graduate School of Journalism with a concentration in Urban Studies and Interactive Media.