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Elizabeth Warren Calls Criminal Justice System 'Racist ... Front To Back'

Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks at Dillard University in New Orleans, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. (Gerald Herbert/AP)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks at Dillard University in New Orleans, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. (Gerald Herbert/AP)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren has a message about the U.S. criminal justice system.

Speaking at Dillard University in New Orleans, a historically black college, she delivered what she called "the hard truth about our criminal justice system: It's racist ... front to back."

The Massachusetts senator identified some of the system's failures:

  • disproportionate arrests of African-Americans for petty drug possession;
  • an overloaded public defender system;
  • and state laws that keep convicted felons from voting even after their sentences are complete.

The speech was part of an annual conference for liberal activists called Netroots Nation.

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