Bill Clinton and Black Lives Matter protestors sparred on Thursday afternoon over the formers president's policies, which have been linked to the mass incarceration and impoverishment of Black people.

Protestors held up signs calling out presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's use of the term "super predators" to describe gang leaders while boosting for her husband's tough on crime credentials during a 1996 campaign stop.

“They are not just gangs of kids anymore,” Clinton said. “They are often the kinds of kids that are called ‘super-predators.’ No conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why they ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel.”

Here's how Bill Clinton responded to protestors who called out the super predators comment.

"I don't know how you would characterize the gang leaders who got 13-year-old kids hopped up on crack, sent them out onto the street to murder other African-American children. Maybe you thought the were good citizens, she didn't. She didn't. You are defending the people who kill the lives you say matter. Tell the truth."

His heated defense of his and Hillary Clinton's crime record reminded some people of the "black on black crime" argument, which insists Black people themselves are solely responsible for incarceration and poverty in their community.

Bill Clinton continued to defend Hillary Clinton by saying that she was the first candidate to say "let's get these people who did non-violent offenses out of prison," according to ABC News.

During his presidency, Bill Clinton encouraged federal "three strikes" laws and created dozens of new federal capital crimes and mandatory life sentences. The largest increase of people sent to federal and state prisons happened during Bill Clinton's presidency, according to The Nation.

Last year in Philadelphia, Bill Clinton had some very different reflections about his crime laws. He told the NAACP that his 1994 crime bill made the problem of mass incarceration worse.

"I signed a bill that made the problem worse," said Bill Clinton. "And I want to admit it."

Clinton also noted that though his wife has borne the brunt of the criticism for the impact of the crime bill, she was not in office at the time it was passed, unlike her opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who voted in favor of it.

RELATED: Hillary Clinton Responds to Black Lives Matter Activists In New Hampshire

[Editor's Note: A previous version of this story said this incident happened on Wednesday afternoon. This is incorrect.]