He originally wrote the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 included Title VI, the Federal Death Penalty Act, creating 60 new death penalty offenses under 41 federal capital statutes, for crimes related to acts of terrorism, murder of a federal law enforcement officer, civil rights-related murders, drive-by shootings resulting in death, the use of weapons of mass destruction resulting in death, and carjackings resulting in death. However, he voted against limiting appeals in capital cases and also opposed rejecting racial statistics in death penalty appeals.
Crime[edit]
Biden wrote the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, which deployed more police officers, increased prison sentences, and built more prisons. The bill created a financial incentive for jailing people and keeping them there for longer periods of time which had a disproportionate impact on minorities.
Drugs[edit]
Biden earned a reputation for being a "drug warrior", leading efforts in the war on drugs. During the 1980s crack epidemic when both Democrats and Republicans were "tough on crime", Biden was the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee that passed numerous punitive measures against drug offenders. In 1986, Biden sponsored and co-wrote the Anti-Drug Abuse Act which caused a large disparity between the sentencing of crack cocaine and powder cocaine users. Black drug users were more likely than whites to use crack and hence were incarcerated in larger numbers. In 1982, he advocated for the creation of a drug czar, a government official overseeing all anti-drug operations. This led to the establishment of the Office of National Drug Control Policy by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988.