Reinstate death penalty for the most heinous crimes
In a 2003 murder case, authorities soon zeroed in on a suspect, Alfonso Rodriguez, a repeat sex offender who had been released from the prison system a few months earlier after serving out a 23-year sentence for a prior crime. They identified clear
evidence that Rodriguez had stabbed and abducted his victim. I did everything I could to make sure other horrible offenders like Rodriguez would remain behind bars for the rest of their lives. Because he brought his victim across state lines, Rodriguez
was tried in federal court. That opened up the possibility that he could receive the death penalty--and he did. I strongly supported the sentence, and I went on to advocate reinstating the penalty in MN for the most heinous criminals. Even though
Rodriguez's release decision predated my time as Governor, I came to understand that the system had failed & that it needed to be much stronger. My administration increased funding to lock up sex offenders and make laws relating to sex offenders tougher.
Minimum mandatory sentences & sex offender notification
In 1998, Pawlenty campaigned for a fourth term in the House, telling reporters: "Constituents want low taxes, good schools, safe neighborhoods. It's not a lot more complicated than that." He listed among his top accomplishments his authoring of a crime
bill placing minimum mandatory sentences on repeat perpetrators of domestic violence, and a community notification law requiring police to notify neighbors when a serious sex offender moved near them.
Source: Sam's Club Republican, by J.A. McClure, p. 16
, May 10, 2010
More prisons; tougher penalties for sex offenders
Proposed and signed the most comprehensive crime bill in modern Minnesota history, including:
Better tracking and tougher penalties for sex offenders, including life in prison for the worse offenders, with no possibility of release.
Put prisoners to work cleaning Minnesota’s highways.
Introduced double-bunking at over-crowded prisons and preparing for a major expansion of the Faribault prison.
Streamlining prison administration by eliminating duplicate tasks.
Source: Campaign website, www.timpawlenty.com, “Issues”
, Nov 7, 2006
