--- description: Bernie Sanders linked reforms to the criminal justice system to his signature talk of Wall Street corruption at Sunday's Democratic debate. title: Watch Bernie Sanders Link Criminal Justice Reform to Wall Street image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ecd6fa6033a7185/69887982cf40a81bc9c41852/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-002.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Bernie Sanders](/tag/bernie-sanders/) ## Bernie Sanders Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Watch Bernie Sanders Link Criminal Justice Reform to Wall Street by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2016 2:59 AM CUT  Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders participates in the NBC - YouTube Democratic presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, S.C. on Jan. 17, 2016. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders participates in the NBC - YouTube Democratic presidential debate at the Gaillard Center in Charleston, S.C. on Jan. 17, 2016.Andrew Burton—Getty Images by [Daniel White](/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2016 2:59 AM CUT Bernie Sanders likes to talk about Wall Street reform—even when he’s [asked a question on a different topic](http://time.com/4183625/democratic-debate-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/ "undefined"). During [Sunday’s Democratic debate](http://time.com/4181009/democratic-debate-watch-live-stream-free-online/ "undefined"), the Vermont Senator was asked about inequalities in the criminal justice system. Sanders cited incarceration statistics, particularly among African Americans and Latinos, as after-effects of a penal system in desperate need of change. But he crystalized his argument—and echoed a major theme of his campaign—by contrasting those who suffer after being charged with minor crimes with white-collar criminals who go unpunished. “Who is satisfied when millions of people have police records for possessing marijuana, when the CEOs of Wall Street companies, who destroyed our economy have no police records,” Sanders said. “We need to take a very hard look at our criminal justice system, investing in jobs and education.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4183979/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-criminal-justice-wall-street/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4183979/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-criminal-justice-wall-street/"},"headline":"Watch Bernie Sanders Link Criminal Justice Reform to Wall Street","datePublished":"2016-01-18T02:59:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:12:31.901Z","description":"\"We need to take a very hard look at our criminal justice system, investing in jobs and education\"","url":"https://time.com/4183979/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-criminal-justice-wall-street/","keywords":["Bernie Sanders","2016 Election topic","criminal-justice reform","justice","Debates"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ecd6fa6033a7185/69887982cf40a81bc9c41852/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-002.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9ecd6fa6033a7185/69887982cf40a81bc9c41852/democratic-debate-bernie-sanders-002.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"CHARLESTON, SC - JANUARY 17: Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) participates in the Democratic Candidates Debate hosted by NBC News and YouTube on January 17, 2016 in Charleston, South Carolina. 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