by Kent Jennings Brockwell
Staff Writer
When he was a Florida state senator six years ago, he was known as “Chain Gang Charlie” for his history of sponsoring tough criminal punishment bills. Now there is a whisper in the air that Florida’s Attorney General Charlie Crist is looking at a possible run for governor — criminals, beware.
Speaking to the Meninak Club of Jacksonville’s luncheon Monday at the Radisson, Crist wouldn’t say if a run for governor is a definite plan for his future in Florida politics but he did deliver a presentation that sounded much like a pre-campaign get-to-know-the-voters speech.
He mainly spoke about safety, security and his history of get tough legislation that has made it harder for criminals in the Florida penal system to get out early.
“If we are going to have a criminal justice system that works, it has got to have some teeth in it,” Crist said. “And it needs to be appropriate punishment. It needs to be swift, short and fair.”
In the past, Crist has been a strong supporter of bringing back chain gangs — hence his nickname — and other laws that would make it harder for violent criminals to get out of jail. In 1995, Crist sponsored a bill called the STOP Act that attacked Florida’s early release programs and insured that Florida’s convicted criminals must serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.
Prior to that bill, criminals in the state served an average of 20 percent of their sentences.
As Attorney General, Crist is currently on the warpath attacking sexual offenders in the state. He told the Meninaks about some of the most recent sexual abductions including the Jessica Lunsford and Sarah Lunde cases.
“There is a common denominator in each and everyone of these crimes,” he said. “In each of those cases, the crime was committed by someone who had already been to prison and had gotten out and been placed on probation.”
Crist said all of the criminals had broken the terms of their parole but were allowed to remain free and not sent back to jail which allowed them the chance to attack again.
“That is what happens when the justice system doesn’t work the way it is supposed to work,” he said. “What ought to happen is that when someone has already been convicted, not just having the propensity, but has been convicted of a violent crime in our state and has served their time and gotten out on probation and then they violate probation, instead of having the opportunity to continue to stay free, to continue to roam the neighborhoods of Florida, I think they ought to go back to jail. I think we need to lock them back up.”
Though there are only two weeks remaining in the legislative session in Tallahassee, Crist says he’s trying to rally support for a bill that would allocate $56 million to keep convicted violent criminals behind bars. Currently, the bill is still pending due to financial concerns but Crist said passing it should be a no-brainer with Florida’s current $64 billion budget.
“They can’t allocate $56 million to protect the children of Florida?” Crist said. “I am tired of reading the newspaper and watching the evening news and seeing these kinds of crimes occur.
“There are 34,000 convicted sexual offenders out on the streets in Florida...Instead of just being able to track them, being able to lock them back up wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.”