5 things to know for your New Day -- Thursday, July 16 - CNN
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM Mea culpa: Did Bill Clinton make the nation's criminal justice system worse by increasing prison sentences in the 1990s. He says he did. The former president told the NAACP's convention in Philadelphia yesterday that the omnibus crime bill he signed in 1994 -- which included the federal "three strikes" provision -- "made the problem worse. And I want to admit it. " Clinton said the bill helped reduce crime, but it also saddled far too many people with lengthy prison sentences for relatively minor drug crimes. Clinton calls on a reporter during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on March 24, 1994. The President said he would release his tax returns from the late-1970s to answer questions about his Whitewater investment. Paula Jones, center, arrives at the office of a lawyer representing President Clinton in Washington on January 17, 1998. The former Arkansas state employee filed a federal civil lawsuit in 1994 accusing Clinton of making "persistent and... The President agreed to an $850,000 settlement on November 13, 1998. Vice President Gore looks on as. Source: www.cnn.com
