when there's political pressure on willie horton. the system kind of kicks back into its old instincts very quickly. do you have some sense of how to change that? >> i think i think you're part of the answer, which is that one, i'm pretty cynical about change, backlash but i think the movement for greater transparency is really huge and shipping to the incredible work on this strength. and when we have, part of the public stories like willie morton of the guy who commits a crime because he's released under realignment or someone who was paroled and commits a murder is that we don't have the data to counter that really powerful individual narrative. we don't have the numbers to say yeah, but five under other people's were paroled and didn't do that and look where they are. or look at the numbers and realignment. look at what this candidate and how they overcame that crime. if we don't hesitate can't have inherited. i think that works to create better database is that show us exactly what prison systems are doing, what criminal justice

i certainly remember -- >> there is no -- >> in year's past, i remember the willie horton ad.hink republicans have a history. he apologized for it. so i just think that michelle nun made a mistake. and allowing this to happen. she's a very good person, mary landrieu is an outstanding person. i don't think she defended. >> reporter: mary landrieu -- lanny. michelle nun did. >> i don't think she meant it. i don't think meant it that way, sean, but i give them the benefit of the doubt. >> we played the tape. i'm giving the benefit of the doubt, but mary landrieu called them racist and sexist yesterday in her interview with chuck todd. >> i known her for years, she's a really good person, if she said that, that's not the mary landrieu that i know -- >> would you like me me to play it for you? >> i'd like to see the full context. >> she's very straightforward. >>. >> i don't want to waste time. >> you know what lanny, if one party is dividing the country, male versus female, black versus white, rich versus poor, old versus young, that is a major significant issue. if those are the

i certainly remember -- >> so there is no -- >> in years past i remember the willie horton ad, i thinkns have a history. lee atwater apologized for it. i think michelle nunn made a mistake in allowing this to happen. she's a very good person. mary landrieu -- >> she's defended it -- >> i don't think she meant it. i don't think they meant it that way, sean. >> that's what she said, i'll give them the benefit of the doubt. but mary landrieu called the people in her state racist and sexist yesterday in her interview with chuck todd. >> i haven't seen the interview. read about it i know her for years. she's a really good person. if she said that, that's not the mary landrieu that i know. >> would you like me to play it for you again? >> i'd like to see the full context of it. >> she was very straightforward. >> i would rather tell you why i'm right rather than waste time on -- >> yeah, i know. you know, lanny, if one party is dividing the country, male versus female, black versus white, rich versus poor, old versus young. that is a major significant issue. if those are the tactics they've

it was the willie horton ad but worse. that republican congressman who ran that ad in nebraska, he lost his seat last might in nebraska. republican lee terry lost his seat. he'll be replaced by a nebraska democrat named brad ashford. here is my favorite what does that mean development from last night. if rand paul wants to run for president in 2016, rand paul better be sure he's going to win because apparently he's going to have to give up his seat in the united states senate if he wants to do that. republicans in the last few years have taken over basically all of the state legislative chambers in the south except for kentucky. in kentucky the house is still held by democrats. kentucky state law right now says you can't run for two federal offices at the same time. rand paul was first elected to the senate in 2010, that means his seat will be up in 2016. 2016 is also the year he wants to run for another federal office. he also wants to run for president of the united states. under kentucky law, he cannot do both. can't ru

and we're also accustomed to thinking the tough on crime commercials the willie horton kind of tacticrvative republican phenomenon. but, in fact, bill clinton signed this bill quite willingly, knowing what was in it and two years earlier he signed the 1994 crime act which set out the prison building binge and had a few other residual effects like cutting off pell grants to inmates who wanted to better themselves so they could have a job when they got out of prison. you know, it's -- it's scary being a liberal who supports criminal justice reform. the environment tends to encourage them to keep their heads down. >> and yet the environment has changed so dramatically. i mean this is part of what's put it out the crime rate has dropped pretty substantially since 1996 when we first saw this. support for the death penalty has dropped although it remains 55% or something a majority but it's substantially down from '96. is this now a moment when the kind of reporting that we're seeing here can actually put these questions back on an agenda as we move into the 2016 presidential election cycle

since the willie horton debacle it's political poison. >> thank you for shedding light. american justice summit will be streaming live today on vicenews.com starting at 1:00 p.m. up next. the republicans picked up policemen of seats last tuesday but weren't able to lure maine's independent senator across party lines. >> he's independent. >> senator angus king explains his decision to stick with the democrats. "morning joe" will be back in a moment. this is mary, a woman who loves to share her passions. grandma! mary has atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts her at a greater risk of stroke. rome? sure! before xarelto® mary took warfarin which required monthly trips to get her blood tested. but that's history. back to the museum? not this time! now that her doctor switched her to once-a-day xarelto® mary can leave those monthly trips behind. domestic flight? not today! like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce afib-related stroke risk. but xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner f