The Party's Over, by Charlie Crist: on Crime


Charlie Crist: 1978: Florida State murders taught empathy for victims

Just after we all returned to school from Christmas break, the whole Tallahassee campus was badly shaken by an absolutely harrowing event. Around 2:45am on Jan. 15, an unknown man walked into the Chi Omega sorority house and savagely beat 4 young women. He then broke into a basement apartment 8 blocks away and attacked another Florida State student.

It took 3 weeks for the assailant to be caught. He was a former law student from Washington State named Ted Bundy, on a cross-country, multi-year murder spree. Before he was finally put to death in 1989, he confessed to 30 murders in 7 states between 1974 and 1978. The true total could be much higher. The attacks left me with an intense empathy for crime victims that has followed me through my life. It also cemented my interest in attending law school.

Source: The Party's Over, by Charlie Crist, p. 25-26 Feb 4, 2014

Charlie Crist: 1993: Sponsored STOP law: Stop Turning Out Prisoners

One thing I noticed was that many people who went to prison in Florida didn't seem to stay very long. It wasn't unusual for prisoners--even murderers--to pack their stuff and go home after 20 or 25% of their terms. The criminal justice system had plenty of justice for the criminals and almost none for the victims of their crimes. So I sponsored legislation requiring inmates to serve at least 85% of their sentences. STOP, it was called, for Stop Turning Out Prisoners. It flew through the legislature. Governor Chiles allowed the change to become law without his signature, going along with it while hinting he wasn't exactly thrilled.
Source: The Party's Over, by Charlie Crist, p. 43 Feb 4, 2014

Charlie Crist: "Chain Gang Charlie": reinstitute prisoner labor on highways

It was the chain gangs that really got me noticed in Tallahassee. In 1995, Alabama had revived the practice of shackling prisoners together and sending them out to work with armed guards, often collecting litter along the highway. The practice had been abandoned in most places in the 1940s. Still, I thought reinstituting appropriate punishment was an important concept, and I decided on a dramatic way of making the point. So one day in the Senate chamber, I hoisted a set of chains above my head--and boy, were they heavier than I thought!

I co-sponsored a chain gang amendment. An editorial writer at the St. Petersburg Times coined the nickname "Chain Gang Charlie." I can assure you it was not meant as a term of endearment. But soon enough, people across the state were calling me "Chain Gang," and I didn't mind it one bit. Being tough on criminals was fine with Republicans.

Source: The Party's Over, by Charlie Crist, p. 43-44 Feb 4, 2014

  • The above quotations are from The Party's Over:
    How the Extreme Right Hijacked the GOP and I Became a Democrat
    by Charlie Crist.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Crime.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Charlie Crist on Crime.
Candidates and political leaders on Crime:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
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Page last updated: Feb 20, 2019