Bill Clinton cannot decide how he feels, or at least what he should say, about his legacy on crime, and in particular his signing of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act more than 20 years ago.

Colloquially known as the Crime Bill, the 1994 law lengthened prison sentences, expanded the use of the death penalty and gave states more money to hire police and build more prisons. It also included an assault weapons ban and funding for inner-city after-school programs.