PRESS CONVERSATIONS.
WE NEED TO HAVE REAL CHANGES IN 
POLICIES.
>> JOHN, I REMEMBER WHEN YOU 
LAUNCHED THIS CAMPAIGN YOU WENT 
TO A PRISON.
>> YEAH.
>> TO PERFORM.
>> YES, I WENT TO A PRISON IN 
AUSTIN.
I WENT TO A PRISON IN 
SACRAMENTO.
I WENT TO OLD FOLLOWSOM PRISON 
WHERE JOHNNY CASH PERFORMED.
I ALSO VISITED FACILITIES IN 
CALIFORNIA.
IN D.C. WE WENT TO VISIT AN 
ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMMER FOR YOUT 
WHO GET CAUGHT UP -- 
>> HAVE YOU FOUND A SOLUTION?
>> WE FOUND A GREAT THING TODAY 
SAYING WE DON'T NEED PRISON AS 
THE SOLUTION FOR EVERY PROBLEM.
SO WHEN OUR YOUNG PEOPLE GET IN 
TROUBLE, A LOT OF TIMES IT'S 
NONVIOLENT.
A LOT OF TIMES IT'S MINOR FIGHTS
AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
A LOT OF TIMES THEY HAVE BEEN 
SENT TO THE PRISON SYSTEM, TO 
THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM AND 
L
LOCKED UP WHEN THERE ARE OTHER 
WAYS TO DEAL WITH THEM, OTHER 
WAY THAT IS ARE COMMUNITY BASED 
AND MORE FOCUSED ON RESTORING 
THEM SO THEY CAN COME BACK AND 
LIVE A GOOD LIFE AND PURSUE 
THEIR DREAMS.
THESE ARE KIDS THAT ARE 15, 16 
YEARS OLD.
FOR US TO GIVE UP ON THEM AND 
THROW THEIR LIVES AWAY AT THAT 
AGE IS JUST A TRAVESTY.
AND SO WE'VE SEEN THAT.
WE'VE SEEN PEOPLE WHO HAVE GONE 
THROUGH ALL KINDS OF TRAUMA WHO 
ARE LIVING IN A CYCLE OF BROKEN 
LIVES WHERE, YOU KNOW, THEY'VE 
HAD ISSUES WITH THEIR OWN 
PARENTS, ISSUES IN THEIR OWN 
COMMUNITIES.
THEY'VE SEEN PEOPLE GET KILLED.
THEY HAVE SEEN FAMILY MEMBERS 
GET LOCKED UP, SO THEY'RE 
ALREADY BROKEN, ALREADY PEOPLE 
WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH SO MUCH, 
AND THEN WHEN THEY GET IN 
TROUBLE, THEY END UP BACK IN 
THAT SAME SYSTEM AND SO WE NEED 
TO FIND WAYS THAT THAT ARE 
BETTER -- 
>> YOU HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO
GET TO THESE AT-RISK KIDS BEFORE
THEY BECOME INCARCERATED.
>> EXACTLY.
I SPENT SO MUCH TIME FOCUSING ON
SCHOOLS AND I STILL DO.
WE FOCUS ON HELPING MAKE SURE 
THAT TEACHERS THAT ARE DOING 
GREAT -- A GREAT JOB ARE GETTING
THEIR SOLUTIONS FUNDED AND 
GETTING THEIR WORK SEEN AROUND 
THE COUNTRY SO THAT WE IMPROVE 
OUR SCHOOLS, IMPROVE THE 
INSTRUCTION QUALITY THAT WE HAVE
FOR THE KIDS.
MAKE SURE THAT THE RESOURCES 
THEY NEED ARE THERE.
MAY SURE IF THEY HAVE EMOTIONAL 
TRAUMAS, THAT WE OFFER SUPPORT 
FOR THEM BUT IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT
FOR THE KIDS THAT SLIP THROUGH 
THE CRACKS WHO ALL THESE 
INTERVENTIONS HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO 
YET THAT WE FIND SOLUTIONS THAT 
AREN'T ALWAYS ABOUT LOCKING THEM
UP.
WE HAVE MADE A DECISION AS A 
COUNTRY OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS 
WE'RE GOING TO DEAL WITH MOST 
PROBLEMS LIKE POVERTY, DRUG 
DEPENDENCY, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES
BY PUTTING PEOPLE IN PRISON.
>> CAN I CHALLENGE YOU ON THAT 
FOR A SECOND?
LET ME CHALLENGE YOU ON THAT.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE CRIME 
STATISTICS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, 
CRIME IS AT A GENERATION LOW 
LEVELS.
>> YES, AND INCARCERATION HASN'T
GONE DOWN TO REFLECT THAT THE 
CRIME HAS GONE DOWN.
AND -- 
>> BUT ISN'T INCARCERATION -- 
>> THEY RECENTLY DID A STUDY 
BECAUSE INTUITIVELY YOU MIGHT 
SAY THE REASON CRIME WENT DOWN 
IS BECAUSE WE LOCKED ALL THE BAD
PEOPLE UP.
A RECENT STUDY SAID THAT'S 
STATISTICALLY NOT THE CASE.
THERE'S A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF IT
THAT IMPACTED THE CRIME RATE 
EARLY ON BUT OVER THE LAST 10 OR
15 YEARS, INCARCERATION HASN'T 
IMPROVED THE CRIME RATE.
>> I'M GOING TO GET IN TROUBLE 
IF I DON'T ASK YOU ABOUT YOUR 
WORK.
YOU HAVE A LOT OF FANS NOT ONLY 
AT CNN BUT AROUND THE COUNTRY, 
AROUND THE WORLD.
YOU WON AN ACADEMY AWARD FOR THE
SONG "GLORY" WHICH YOU CO-WROTE 
WITH COMMON, AND YOU SAID MORE 
BLACK MEN ARE UNDER CORRECTIONAL
CONTROL THAN THEY WERE UNDER 
SLAVERY IN 1850.
THIS IS PERSONAL FOR YOU.
>> WELL, IT'S PERSONAL FOR ME 
BECAUSE I HAVE HAD FAMILY 
MEMBERS THAT HAVE GOTTEN CAUGHT 
UP IN THE SYSTEM.
I HAVE HAD FAMILY FRIENDS THAT I
GREW UP WITH THAT HAVE BEEN 
CAUGHT UP IN THE SYSTEM.
PEOPLE THAT GREW UP IN MY SAME 
NEIGHBORHOOD.
I COULD HAVE BEEN ONE OF THEM, 
AND SO I DO TAKE THIS 
PERSONALLY, BUT I HAVE SEEN IT 
DESTROY WAY TOO MANY FAMILIES.
I'VE SEEN IT DESTROY WAY TOO 
MANY COMMUNITIES.
AND AS I GO THROUGH OUR SCHOOLS 
AND THROUGH OUR COMMUNITIES AND 
SEE THE RESULTS OF THESE -- THIS
SITUATION WHERE YOU SEE SO MANY 
KIDS GROWING UP WITHOUT A 
FATHER, FOR INSTANCE, SO MANY 
KIDS THAT HAVE SOME KIND OF 
PARENT IN PRISON OR UNDER 
PROBATION OR PAROLE, CAN'T GET A
JOB, CAN'T VOTE FOR VARIOUS 
