I came out of the government in 1965 right after the inauguration. It was hard getting out of the government at that time, for someone like me, anyway. I got out finally after a lot of diddling and discussion with President Johnson. |
I don't think that anybody like me can really understand, even have an inkling, of what's going on in the criminal justice system, the people caught up in it, without seeing it in person. I spoke of the magistrates' courts in South Africa, but I've been down in the basement of 100 Centre Street and saw black people put in cages like animals in the United States, in the world's capital of culture, show biz and beauty, like New York City. |
It's very discouraging to know that in the criminal justice system the people in control don't have time - many times they don't have any information, many times they're overwhelmed by the politics of something, like the death penalty, to seriously want to reform a criminal justice system that they have some control over. |
The death penalty, I think, is a terrible scar on American justice, especially the concept of equal justice under law, but also of due process. And it goes state by state, and it's different in different states. |
The fire trucks are out, there are thousands of people in the streets. You have a choice. You can have this, or you let Negroes eat at the lunch counters. |
With respect to drugs, you know, there are a lot of organizations, including an enormous budget and an army at the federal government level that tries to deal with the drug problem. |