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Charlie Crist on Crime
Republican
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Reimagine law enforcement; restore trust with police
He supported the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act
to reimagine law enforcement and restore trust between police and the communities they serve.
Source: 2021 Florida Gubernatorial campaign website CharlieCrist.com
, May 5, 2021
"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
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
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
Chain-Gang Charlie: reinstitute prison chain gangs
Crist has been doggedly reminding people: He says he is a pro-gun, anti-abortion, small-government conservative who worships Ronald Reagan.
He says he is against gay marriage, frugal (he pays off his single credit card every month) and despised by criminals (he once proposed that chain gangs be reinstituted, earning him the nickname Chain Gang Charlie).
Source: New York Times on 2010 Florida Senate debate
, Jan 10, 2010
Stop Turning Out Prisoners: serve at least 85% of sentence
Crist received invaluable experience in Florida's criminal justice system while interning in the State Attorney's Office.In 1992, he won a seat in the Florida Senate, where he represented the interests of citizens concerned about such issues as
education, crime, the environment and elder affairs. During his six years in the Senate, Crist served as Chairman of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee and as Chairman of the Appropriations Criminal Justice Subcommittee.
A strong voice for public safety, he sponsored, among other legislation, the Stop Turning Out Prisoners (STOP) bill requiring prisoners to serve at least 85 percent of their prison sentences.
This achievement earned him numerous honors, including appointment as an Honorary Sheriff by the Florida Sheriffs Association--only the third person to receive the honor in the organization's long history.
Source: 2010 Senate campaign website, www.charliecrist.com, "Issues"
, Dec 25, 2009
Supports 10-20-Life and Stop Turning Out Prisoners program
In the Preamble to the Constitution, one of the primary roles of government is defined as ensuring domestic tranquility, which means keeping our people safe. We are fulfilling this responsibility with tougher laws and increased enforcement along with
crime prevention strategies within the criminal justice system. Effective legislation such as Stop Turning Out Prisoners and 10-20-Life is making an impact on the crime rate, while the Anti-Murder Act will prevent future tragedies.
And we must also work together to address crime in our state, including gang activity.I was proud to launch the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit in 2005 to thwart the actions of those who target our children.
Attorney General Bill McCollum has made fighting this crime a top priority.
Source: 2008 State of the State Address to Florida legislature
, Mar 4, 2008
Supports 10-20-Life and Stop Turning Out Prisoners program
And we must also work together to address crime in our state, including gang activity.I was proud to launch the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit in 2005 to thwart the actions of those who target our children.
Attorney General Bill McCollum has made fighting this crime a top priority.
Source: 2008 State of the State Address to Florida legislature
, Mar 4, 2008
Proposed the Anti-Murder Act
I have proposed the Anti-Murder Act. I have witnessed firsthand the unimaginable limits of human grief when a parent loses a child to violent crime. Until you have listened to a father or a mother who have seen the light of their lives extinguished
by the monstrous assault of a violent felon, you cannot know the enormity of the threat we face. We owe our parents the simple assurance that we have done everything within our power to prevent these atrocities from ever happening again.
Source: 2007 State of the State Address
, Mar 6, 2007
Require that prisoners serve at least 85% of their sentences
As a State Senator, Charlie fought for and passed the STOP (Stop Turning Out Prisoners) legislation that required, for the first time, that prisoners serve at least 85% of their sentences.
Source: 2006 Senate campaign website, www.charliecrist.com, “Issues”
, Nov 7, 2006
Broaden use of federal death penalty
Crist supports the following principles concerning crime:- Broaden use of the death penalty for federal crimes.
- Prosecute youths accused of a felony as adults.
- Increase funding for local
Boys & Girls Clubs and other independent organizations in communities with at-risk youth.
- Deport all permanent resident aliens convicted of a felony.
Source: Congressional 1998 National Political Awareness Test
, Nov 1, 1998
More federal prisons; more “truth in sentencing”
Crist supports the following principles concerning crime:- Increase spending to build more federal prisons.
- Impose “truth in sentencing” for violent criminals so they serve full sentences with no chance of parole.
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Fund programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- Expand funding for community policing programs.
- Increase penalties for the possession of any illegal firearms.
Source: Congressional 1998 National Political Awareness Test
, Nov 1, 1998
First step: reduce recidivism & mass incarceration.
Crist voted YEA First Step Act
Congressional Summary:
- TITLE I--RECIDIVISM REDUCTION: establish a risk and needs assessment system to evaluate the recidivism risk of prisoners; to guide housing assignments; and to reward participation in recidivism reduction programs.
- TITLE II--BUREAU OF PRISONS SECURE FIREARMS STORAGE: allow federal correctional officers to securely store and carry concealed firearms on BOP premises outside the security perimeter of a prison.
- TITLE III--RESTRAINTS ON PREGNANT PRISONERS PROHIBITED: limits the use of restraints on federal prisoners who are pregnant or in postpartum recovery.
- TITLE IV--SENTENCING REFORM: reduces the enhanced mandatory minimum prison terms for certain repeat drug offenses.
Opposing press release from Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA-1):: The reform sentencing laws in this bill may compromise the safety of our communities. Criminals convicted of violent crimes would have the opportunity to
achieve 'low risk' status and become eligible for early release. California already has similar laws in place--Propositions 47 and 57--which have hamstrung law enforcement and caused a significant uptick in crime.
Supporting press release from Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY-10):: S. 756 establishes a new system to reduce the risk that [federal prisoners] will commit crimes once they are released. Critically, S. 756 would not only implement these reforms to our prison system, but it also takes a crucial first step toward addressing grave concerns about our sentencing laws, which have for years fed a national crisis of mass incarceration. The bill is a 'first step' that demonstrates that we can work together to make the system fairer in ways that will also reduce crime and victimization.
Legislative outcome: Concurrence Passed Senate, 87-12-1, on Dec. 18, 2018; Concurrence Passed House 358-36-28, Dec. 20, 2018; President Trump signed, Dec. 21, 2018
Source: Congressional vote 18-S756 on Dec 20, 2018
Page last updated: Dec 17, 2021