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Jim Talent on Crime

Republican Senator; previously Representative (MO-2)


Voted NO on funding for alternative sentencing instead of more prisons.

Vote on an amendment that would reduce the funding for violent offender imprisonment by and truth-in-sentencing programs by $61 million. The measure would increase funding for Boys and Girls Clubs and drug courts by the same amount.
Reference: Amendment sponsored by Scott, D-VA; Bill HR 4690 ; vote number 2000-317 on Jun 22, 2000

Voted YES on more prosecution and sentencing for juvenile crime.

Vote to pass a bill to appropriate $1.5 billion to all of the states that want to improve their juvenile justice operations. Among other provisions this bill includes funding for development, implementation, and administration of graduated sanctions for juvenile offenders, funds for building, expanding, or renovating juvenile corrections facilities, hiring juvenile judges, probation officers, and additional prosecutors for juvenile cases.
Reference: Bill introduced by McCollum, R-FL; Bill HR 1501 ; vote number 1999-233 on Jun 17, 1999

Voted NO on maintaining right of habeas corpus in Death Penalty Appeals.

Vote on an amendment to delete provisions in the bill that would make it harder for prisoners who have been given the death penalty in state courts to appeal the decision on constitutional grounds in the federal courts ['Habeas Corpus'].
Bill HR 2703 ; vote number 1996-64 on Mar 14, 1996

Voted YES on making federal death penalty appeals harder.

Vote on a bill to make it harder for prisoners who have been given the death penalty in state courts to appeal the decision on constitutional grounds in the federal courts.
Bill HR 729 ; vote number 1995-109 on Feb 8, 1995

Voted NO on replacing death penalty with life imprisonment.

Amendment to replace death penalty crimes in the 1994 Omnibus Crime Bill with life imprisonment.
Bill HR 4092 ; vote number 1994-107 on Apr 14, 1994

More prisons, more enforcement, effective death penalty.

Talent signed the Contract with America:

[As part of the Contract with America, within 100 days we pledge to bring to the House Floor the following bill]:

The Taking Back Our Streets Act:
An anti-crime package including stronger truth in sentencing, “good faith” exclusionary rule exemptions, effective death penalty provisions, and cuts in social spending from this summer’s crime bill to fund prison construction and additional law enforcement to keep people secure in their neighborhoods and kids safe in their schools.
Source: Contract with America 93-CWA4 on Sep 27, 1994

Prevent luxurious conditions in prisons.

Talent co-sponsored preventing luxurious conditions in prisons

To amend the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to prevent luxurious conditions in prisons. The "No Frills Prison Act" requires each State, to be eligible for truth in sentencing incentive grants, to demonstrate that it:

  1. provides living conditions and opportunities within its prisons that are not more luxurious than those that the average prisoner would have experienced if not incarcerated;
  2. does not provide to any such prisoner specified benefits or privileges, including earned good time credits, less than 40 hours a week of work that either offsets or reduces the expenses of keeping the prisoner or provides resources toward restitution of victims, unmonitored phone calls (with exceptions), in-cell television viewing, possession of pornographic materials, instruction or training equipment for any martial art or bodybuilding or weightlifting equipment, or dress or hygiene other than as is uniform or standard in the prison; and
  3. in the case of a prisoner serving a sentence for a crime of violence which resulted in serious bodily injury to another, does not provide housing other than in separate cell blocks intended for violent prisoners, less than nine hours a day of physical labor (with exceptions), any release from the prison for any purpose unless under physical or mechanical restraint and under constant supervision of at least one armed correctional officer, or any viewing of television.
    Source: No Frills Prison Act (H.R.663) 95-HR663 on Jan 24, 1995

    Other candidates on Crime: Jim Talent on other issues:
    MO Gubernatorial:
    Jay Nixon
    MO Senatorial:
    Claire McCaskill
    Kit Bond

    Newly elected in 2008 & seated in 2009:
    AK:Begich (D)
    CO:Udall (D)
    ID:Risch (R)
    MN:Franken (D)
    NC:Hagan (D)
    NE:Johanns (R)
    NH:Shaheen (D)
    NM:Udall (D)
    OR:Merkley (D)
    VA:Warner (D)

    Newly appointed in 2009;
    special election in 2010:

    DE:Kaufman (D)
    CO:Bennet (D)
    IL:Burris (D)
    NY:Gillibrand (D)

    Announced retirement as of 2010:
    DE:Kaufman (D)
    FL:Martinez (R)
    KS:Brownback (R)
    MO:Bond (R)
    OH:Voinovich (R)


    Up for 6-year term in 2010:
    (13 Democrats; 15 Republicans)
    AK:Murkowski (R)
    AL:Shelby (R)
    AR:Lincoln (D)
    AZ:McCain (R)
    CA:Boxer (D)
    CT:Dodd (D)
    GA:Isakson (R)
    HI:Inouye (D)
    IA:Grassley (R)
    ID:Crapo (R)
    IN:Bayh (D)
    KY:Bunning (R)
    LA:Vitter (R)
    MD:Mikulski (D)
    NC:Burr (R)
    ND:Dorgan (D)
    NH:Gregg (R)
    NV:Reid (D)
    NY:Schumer (D)
    OK:Coburn (R)
    OR:Wyden (D)
    PA:Specter (R)
    SC:DeMint (R)
    SD:Thune (R)
    UT:Bennett (R)
    VT:Leahy (D)
    WA:Murray (D)
    WI:Feingold (D)
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    Page last updated: Nov 22, 2009