The lineup of strange comments from 2016 Republican presidential candidates is getting just downright ridiculous. From Dr. Ben Carson’s crackpot statements to Donald Trump’s Latino bigotry, it’s hard to believe that it could get any worse. Now Mike Huckabee agrees that slavery should be reinstated.
To put his comment in context, he was on a conservative radio talk show hosted by Jan Mickelson. Mickelson turned to complaints against the criminal justice system. Mickelson felt that Biblical punishment should be instated within America, specifically slavery for crimes. It says, if a person steals, they have to pay it back two-fold, four-fold… If they don’t have anything, we’re supposed to take them down and sell them. Mickelson went on to state, “We indenture them and they have to spend their time not sitting on their stump in a jail cell, they’re supposed to be working off the debt. Wouldn’t that be a better choice?”
Surprisingly, Huckabee agreed and stated, “Well, it really would be… Sometimes the best way to deal with a nonviolent criminal behavior is what you just suggested.”
Fortunately, US law forbids “debtor’s prison,” which was upheld by the US Supreme Court Decision in Bearden v. Georgia.
This position is dangerous and is no different than the premises of some aspects of Sharia law. But it also shows that some republicans have no issue with reinstating slavery.
