{"id":1572366,"date":"2022-07-26T19:39:50","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T23:39:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1572366"},"modified":"2022-07-26T19:51:43","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T23:51:43","slug":"trump-calls-for-executing-drug-dealers-but-his-first-step-act-let-them-out-of-jail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-calls-for-executing-drug-dealers-but-his-first-step-act-let-them-out-of-jail\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Calls For Executing Drug Dealers, But His \u2018First Step Act\u2019 Let Them Out Of Jail"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-calls-for-executing-drug-dealers-but-his-first-step-act-let-them-out-of-jail%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1572366&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In a speech marking his return to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump called for drug dealers to be executed \u2013 but during his presidency, Trump signed into law a bill that sent a very different message.<\/p>\n<p>The former president signed the <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/12\/13\/stefano-first-step-act-meaningful-bipartisan-prison-reform\/\">bipartisan<\/a> First Step Act in 2018 after being convinced it could help his political career, Politico <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2022\/05\/01\/trump-republicans-first-step-act-00029104\">previously<\/a> reported. Still, Trump reportedly remained privately <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/12\/13\/richards-first-step-act-less-safety-more-crime\/\">skeptical<\/a> about the decision, with one former official telling Politico that he\u2019d often lament about being \u201ctalked\u201d into it.<\/p>\n<p>The law in part sought to shorten sentences for nonviolent drug offenders \u2013 a notable fact given Trump\u2019s recent declaration calling for the death sentence for drug dealers. Officials noted in 2019 that over 1,500 inmates retroactively received reduced sentences due to a provision that lessened sentences for individuals convicted of crack-related crimes versus those only convicted of crimes involving cocaine powder, Reuters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-justice-prisons\/about-3100-federal-inmates-to-be-released-early-under-new-u-s-law-idUSKCN1UE25G\">reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"story-text__paragraph\" data-content-child-index=\"0-1\">These days \u2014 as evidenced by his speech in D.C. \u2014 Trump doesn\u2019t often speak about the law, which he touted as \u201ca big breakthrough for a lot of people\u201d at <a href=\"https:\/\/trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov\/briefings-statements\/remarks-president-trump-h-r-5682-first-step-act\/?utm_source=twitter&#038;utm_medium=social&#038;utm_campaign=rdjt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the time<\/a>. Instead, the former president preaches a wholehearted tough-on-crime mentality and hones in on Democratic policies that he argues have contributed to a rise in crime in many major cities.<\/p>\n<p data-content-child-index=\"0-1\">\u201cIf you look at countries throughout the world, the ones that don\u2019t have a drug problem are those that institute a very quick trial, death penalty sentence for drug dealers. It sounds horrible, doesn\u2019t it? But you know what, that\u2019s the ones that don\u2019t have any problem,\u201d Trump said Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p data-content-child-index=\"0-1\">\u201cYou execute a drug dealer and you\u2019ll save 500 lives, because they kill on average 500 people,\u201d Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/07\/26\/trump-drug-dealers-afpi-speech\/\">continued<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s terrible to say, but you take a look at every country in this world that doesn\u2019t have a problem with drugs, they have a very strong death penalty for the people that sell drugs. If we\u2019re going to stop this scourge, it\u2019s time to get brutally tough on the dealers and traffickers and narco-terrorist cartels who are stealing over 200,000 American lives a year.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7485999\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7485999\" class=\"size-full wp-image-7485999\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2019-04-02T001409Z_1547031331_RC14944BE940_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP-PRISONS-scaled-1.jpg\" alt=\"U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to Shon Hopwood, Georgetown law professor, and convicted felon, who is Tiffany Trump&#039;s professor, during the 2019 Prison Reform Summit and First Step Act Celebration at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 1, 2019. REUTERS\/Yuri Gripas\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2019-04-02T001409Z_1547031331_RC14944BE940_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP-PRISONS-scaled-1.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/cdn01.dailycaller.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2019-04-02T001409Z_1547031331_RC14944BE940_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP-PRISONS-180x120.jpg 180w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2019-04-02T001409Z_1547031331_RC14944BE940_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP-PRISONS-620x413-1.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2019-04-02T001409Z_1547031331_RC14944BE940_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP-PRISONS-768x512-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2019-04-02T001409Z_1547031331_RC14944BE940_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP-PRISONS-1536x1024-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/2019-04-02T001409Z_1547031331_RC14944BE940_RTRMADP_3_USA-TRUMP-PRISONS-2048x1365-1.jpg 2048w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7485999\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to Shon Hopwood, Georgetown law professor, and convicted felon, who is Tiffany Trump\u2019s professor, during the 2019 Prison Reform Summit and First Step Act Celebration at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 1, 2019. REUTERS\/Yuri Gripas<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-content-child-index=\"0-1\">Throughout his presidency, Trump granted clemency to multiple people <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2020\/10\/21\/926374277\/trump-grants-clemency-to-5-most-incarcerated-for-drug-offenses\">convicted<\/a> on drug charges, including some charged with drug trafficking.<\/p>\n<p data-content-child-index=\"0-1\">In 2021, Trump even issued a last-minute pardon for a convicted drug smuggler who reportedly \u201chas a history of violence and threatening people,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/01\/22\/us\/politics\/trump-pardons-jonathan-braun.html\">according<\/a> to The New York Times. This individual, Jonathan Braun, ran a large-scale smuggling ring focused on marijuana, and was still facing separate investigations as of his pardon, The Times added.<\/p>\n<p data-content-child-index=\"0-1\">Meanwhile, in early 2019, Joel Francisco \u2013 convicted of selling crack cocaine and sentenced to life in prison \u2013 was one of the first inmates set free as a result of Trump\u2019s \u201cFirst Step Act.\u201d Later that year, he was arrested and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/11\/09\/us\/first-step-act-release-alleged-murder\/index.html\">charged<\/a> with murder, according to CNN.<\/p>\n<p data-content-child-index=\"0-1\">Then, in 2020, Francisco pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, The Providence Journal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.providencejournal.com\/story\/news\/coronavirus\/2020\/10\/14\/former-latin-kings-leader-also-facing-murder-charge-agrees-to-plead-guilty-in-drug-case\/42753107\/\">reported<\/a> at the time. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2022\/01\/17\/barr-congress-next-step-criminal-justice-reform\/\">(RELATED:\u00a0BARR: Time For Congress To Take The \u2018Next Step\u2019 On Criminal Justice Reform)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-content-child-index=\"0-1\">Notably, the \u201cFirst Step Act\u201d has released drug dealers who have gone on to better their lives. One prime <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2020\/08\/27\/alice-marie-johnson-speaks-republican-national-convention-donald-trump-criminal-justice-reform\/\">example<\/a> is that of\u00a0Alice Marie Johnson, who was sentenced\u00a0to life in prison for her role in a cocaine trafficking\u00a0group. After Trump pardoned her in 2020, she went on to be a criminal justice reform activist and published a memoir.<\/p>\n<p data-content-child-index=\"0-1\">Still, the \u201cFirst Step Act\u201d remains a touchy subject among Republicans, particularly as crime rises and elections continue to heat up. Charles Stimson, a crime expert at the Heritage Foundation, explained to Politico that given the current climate, voters are more likely to turn out for those who push law and order hard.<\/p>\n<p data-content-child-index=\"0-1\">\u201cPeople will probably be motivated in the fall to vote for folks who take the law and order approach and they\u2019re not going to believe people who say they don\u2019t have a crime problem,\u201d he said according to the media company.<\/p>\n<p data-content-child-index=\"0-1\">A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The former president signed the &#8216;First Step Act&#8217; into law during his presidency<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":125,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1572366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1572366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/125"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1572366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1572366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1572366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1572366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1572366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}