"It was Al Gore in primary debates who was the first person to bring up the issue of Willie Horton, that released criminal..."
From the Howler:
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In one of 45 Dem debates that year, Candidate Gore challenged Candidate Dukakis to defend a Massachusetts furlough program under which convicts serving life sentences without hope of parole were released on weekend passes. In particular, Gore noted that two furloughed prisoners had committed new murders while on weekend leave. (Willie Horton was not one of these convicts.) The program was almost impossible to defend. But Gore only mentioned the program once, and he never mentioned any prisoner's name; never mentioned any prisoners race; never ran any TV ads on the topic; and never used any visuals. More specifically, he never named Willie Horton, or mentioned his specific crime (Horton committed a brutal rape while on leave).
Contact NPR ombudsman Dvorkin at ombudsman@npr.org and suggest that he hire some political commentators who don't repeat years-old long-debunked smears.
(oops - Dvorkin not Dvorak)