Bill Clinton Says His Policies Put Too Many People in Prison

Former President Bill Clinton on Wednesday conceded his administration’s role in the overcrowding of U.S. prisons.

In an interview with CNN, Clinton said the “three-strikes” policy passed while he was in office contributed to over-incarceration. The provision, part of a larger 1994 crime bill, mandates life sentences for criminals convicted of a violent felony after two or more prior convictions.

“The problem is the way it was written and implemented is we cast too wide a net and we had too many people in prison,” Clinton said. “And we wound up… putting so many people in prison that there wasn’t enough money left to educate them, train them for new jobs and increase the chances when they came out so they could live productive lives.”

Clinton’s wife Hillary Clinton, who is now running for President, supported the provision in 1994 but has since changed her tune, calling for criminal justice reform and an end to “mass incarceration.”