Charlie Crist on Crime

Republican

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: 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.

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: Campaign website, www.charliecrist.com, “Issues” Nov 7, 2006

Broaden use of federal death penalty

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”

Increase spending to build more federal prisons.
Impose “truth in sentencing” for violent criminals so they serve full sentences with no chance of parole.
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

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Page last updated: Nov 26, 2010