[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 26 (Thursday, February 9, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1469]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             SUPPORT THE VIOLENT CRIMINAL INCARCERATION ACT

  (Mr. JONES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I spoke about Kermit Smith, the 
individual who spent 14 years on death row for the brutal kidnaping, 
rape, and murder of a college cheerleader in North Carolina. However, I 
forgot to mention that he was on parole during the time of the murder. 
Two years prior, he was convicted of a violent crime and spent 1 year 
and 8 months in prison--less than 50 percent of his sentence.
  According to the Justice Department, a violent criminal serves 
roughly 42 percent of his prison term which breaks down to an average 
of 24 months in jail.
  The American people are fed up with this. Congress needs to send a 
strong message to criminals. We must increase the amount of time spent 
in prison. Criminals must receive harsh punishments, not merely a slap 
on the wrist.
  The Violent Criminal Incarceration Act does exactly this. It allows 
States to strengthen its sentencing policies by providing grants to 
expand prisons. Let us work together to put these violent criminals 
away and end the revolving door policy at our prisons.

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