[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 96 (Friday, July 17, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1336-E1338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




THE NO SECOND CHANCES FOR MURDERERS, RAPISTS, OR CHILD MOLESTERS ACT OF 
                                  1998

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MATT SALMON

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 16, 1998

  Mr. SALMON. Mr. Speaker, more than 14,000 murders, rapes, and sexual 
assaults on children are committed each year by individuals who have 
been released into our neighborhoods after serving a prison sentence 
for rape, murder, or child molestation. Think about it: every one of 
these crimes is preventable. These perpetrators were behind bars, 
convicted of heinous crimes, yet were released to prey on the 
population again. This is unconscionable, indefensible, and must stop. 
I am committed to seeing that it stops, which is why today I am 
introducing the ``No Second Chances For Murderers, Rapists, or Child 
Molesters Act.'' The legislation will encourage States to keep the most 
violent offenders off of the streets.
  Public safety demands that we keep these people behind bars. Second 
chances may be fine for a petty thief. However, I don't believe that 
individuals who have murdered, raped, or molested a child, should have 
the opportunity to repeat their criminal behavior.
  We can prevent the repeat carnage if we simply have the will to keep 
these offenders in prison for life. It may be stating the obvious, but 
the fact is that last year, not a single murderer, rapist, or child 
molester in prison victimized an innocent person in the community. 
Unfortunately, all too many who were released went on to commit these 
brutal crimes again.
  Among the crimes committed by released recidivists were these 
senseless tragedies:
  In 1997, Arthur J. Bomar Jr. was charged in Pennsylvania with the 
rape and murder of George Mason University star athlete, Aimee Willard. 
Bomar had been paroled in 1990 from a Nevada prison, following an 
eleven year stint in prison for murder. Even in prison he had a record 
of violence. Bomar is also being investigated for involvement in at 
least two other homicides that followed his release.
  Laurence Singleton raped and physically mutilated Mary Vincent in 
California. She showed extraordinary courage and perseverance by 
surviving the attack and working for his conviction. He was sent to 
jail, where he should have stayed. Yet because of weaknesses in our 
criminal justice system, he was later released, and he murdered Roxanne 
Hayes in Florida. Again in large measure because of Ms. Vincent's 
efforts, Singleton was recently sentenced to death in Florida.
  Robert Simon killed his girlfriend for refusing to engage in sexual 
relations with his motorcycle gang. For this crime, Simon spent 12 
years in a Pennsylvania prison. Eleven weeks after he was paroled, he 
was arrested for killing a New Jersey police officer, Ippolito ``Lee'' 
Gonzalez. A New Jersey jury would later sentence Simon to death for 
this crime. The judge who had sentenced Simon in Pennsylvania on his 
first murder conviction, had written to the state parole board that 
Simon ``should never

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see the light of day in Pennsylvania or any other place in the free 
world.''
  Reginald McFadden killed an elderly women in Philadelphia by binding 
her face with tape and suffocating her. After 25 years in prison he was 
paroled. three weeks after his parole, McFadden went on a crime spree 
in New York. McFadden murdered three people, and raped, assaulted, and 
held hostage a fourth. The survivor of the one man crime wave, Ms. 
Jeremy Brown, offered courageous testimony that helped to convince 
jurors to convict McFadden. After the conviction, Ms. Brown said: 
``McFadden was given a second chance, for some inexplicable reason, and 
now we have to pay for it.''
  Gregory Bolin was convicted in Colorado for raping two women. Paroled 
once, he returned to prison after armed assault. Then, two weeks after 
being released prematurely for the second time, he moved to Nevada and 
kidnapped, raped, beat, and finally murdered a 21-year-old woman, 
Brooklyn Ricks. The prosecution argued that the one lesson Bolin 
learned during his incarceration was not to leave witnesses to his sex 
crimes. A Nevada jury sentenced Bolin to death for the murder of Ricks.
  Released murderers, rapists, and child molesters are more likely to 
re-commit the same offense than the general prison population. Released 
murderers are almost five times more likely than other ex-convicts to 
be rearrested for murder. Released rapists are 10.5 times more likely 
than non-rapist offenders to have a subsequent arrest for rape. 
Astonishingly, a recent Department of Justice study revealed that 
134,300 convicted child molesters and other sex offenders are currently 
living in our neighborhoods across America.
  Sentences for these crimes, particularly sex crimes against women and 
children, are incredibly weak. The average actual time served by men 
after conviction for rape is just 4 years, 9 months. For sexual assault 
(including molestation, forcible sodomy, lewd acts with children, 
etc.), it is just 2 years 9 months. Moreover, fully 13% of convicted 
rapists receive no jail time. Following the tragic death of nine-year-
old Megan Kanka, who was killed by a released, convicted child 
molester, Congress and state legislatures have recognized the rights of 
families to be aware of child molesters in their midst. Through Megan's 
Law and its policies of sex offender registration and community 
notification, citizens have been empowered to take measures to protect 
themselves. Now we should build on Megan's Law by keeping these 
dangerous criminals out of our neighborhoods entirely.
  Ten years ago, a parent had no right to be notified that a convicted 
child molester lived next door. Now, many want more than notification 
that dangerous child molesters are in their neighborhoods and near 
their schools. They want to live free from convicted sex offenders. 
Let's keep every molester behind bars so we don't have to have more 
tears, more memorial services, and more child victims. I repeat: every 
crime committed by a released child molester is preventable. And to 
those who disagree, a simple challenge: you explain to the victims of 
pedophilia why imprisoned child molesters, who have the highest rates 
of recidivism, should ever be set free to victimize innocent children 
again. Given that criminals with electronic monitors have raped while 
wearing the tracking devices, it is foolhardy to hope that registration 
alone can prevent subsequent depraved acts.
  I want to change the nature of the debate. To encourage states to 
keep sex offenders and murderers in prison where they belong, I am 
introducing the ``No Second Chances for Murderers, Rapists, or Child 
Molesters Act of 1998.'' The legislation would enact a simple process: 
if a state releases a murderer, rapist, or child molester and that 
criminal goes on to commit one of those crimes in another state, the 
state that released the criminal will compensate the second state and 
the victim of the later crime. Specifically, the Attorney General, 
using federal law enforcement funds, would transfer the second state's 
cost of apprehension, prosecution, and incarceration of the criminal 
from the state that released the criminal to the second state. Half of 
the amounts transferred would be deposited in the state's crime 
victims' fund, and half would be deposited in the state account that 
collects federal law enforcement funds. Additionally, the proposal 
provides $100,000 to the victims of the subsequent attack.
  The No Second Chances bill is an appropriate exercise of federal 
authority. It specifically leaves to the states those cases in which a 
recidivist strikes again in the same state. But states are helpless in 
preventing many crimes that occur because other states, with weaker 
laws, allow their released criminals to return to the streets to commit 
more crimes. This bill alerts states that they will assume a financial 
risk when they release the most violent felons back into society. Only 
states that do not take measurers to eliminate interstate recidivism 
among killers, rapists, and child sex predators will suffer. States 
that have enacted tough criminal laws should not have to pay for the 
costs of another state's failure to keep a dangerous offender behind 
bars.
  States can reverse the misguided policy of releasing dangerous sex 
offenders today. (Some notorious child molesters have publicly admitted 
that they will terrorize young children again if released into 
society.) The Supreme Court has ruled that a dangerous sex offender may 
be kept in custody past the expiration of his sentence. A permanent 
solution would be for the states to pass laws that mandate lifetime 
incarceration (or the death penalty) for murderers, rapists and child 
molesters.
  Finally, to ensure that Federal law is consistent with the changes we 
are encouraging the States to make, the legislation instructs the 
United States Sentencing Commission to amend the Federal Sentencing 
Guidelines to provide that whoever is guilty of murder, rape, or 
unwanted sexual acts against a child shall be punished by imprisonment 
for life (or by the death penalty, in the case of murder).
  We know that the one sure-fire way to prevent crime is to keep 
criminals in jail. The investment in prisons during the 1980s may be 
the most important factor in the declining crime rate Americans have 
experienced during much of the 1990s. We spend about $102 per person 
annually--27 cents a day--on federal, state, and local correction 
facilities, less than we spend on cable television. What is a couple of 
additional cents compared to a life taken too early, the permanent 
damage to a woman raped or a child molested? And let's not forget that 
society has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars in 
investigating, prosecuting, and incarcerating these criminals in the 
first place (not to mention the cost to the original victims).
  Before I close, I would like to dedicate this bill to all of those 
who participated in today's bill introduction ceremony and the memory 
of those they lost. I am touched that people would come from all across 
the country to express support for the No Second Chances Bill.
  Gail Willard from Pennsylvania, mother of Aimee, has galvanized 
support for the recidivism measure, which I also refer to as ``Aimee's 
Law.''
  The assistance of one of the truly courageous people on this planet, 
Mary Vincent, as well as that of her attorney, Mark Edwards, has been 
instrumental in putting together the No Second Chances bill.
  Jeremy Brown from New York, the rape survivor whose attacker murdered 
three others and raped her after being released from a murder sentence 
in Pennsylvania, has also been active in the process of crafting the 
legislation.
  Louis Gonzales from New Jersey, brother of Ippolito, has been a 
tremendous help in convincing others to support this effort.
  Marc Klaas, whose daughter Polly was molested and murdered by a 
released molester, has been successful in lobbying for the passage of 
important criminal justice reforms on the state and federal level. His 
participation in this effort is very much appreciated.
  Fred Goldman, whose son Ron was murdered, has been a leader in the 
victims' rights movement. He has helped us gather support for the bill.
  Mika Moulten from Illinois, mother of a beautiful boy Christopher, a 
10 year-old molested and murdered by a released child molester and 
killer, has inspired me with her dedication to improve our nation's 
criminal justice system.
  And Carol and Roger Fornoff from my state of Arizona, parents of 
Christy Ann, a 13-year-old girl who was raped and murdered while she 
was delivering newspapers, have generously offered their help to pass 
the No Second Changes Bill. Carol and Roger led a successful crusade in 
Arizona to increase sentences for those who attack children.
  I also thank Officer Lou Cannon from the Fraternal Order of Police; 
and Sara O'Meara, Yvonne Fedderson, and Mariam Bell, the founders of 
Childhelp USA, for their support. It is a great honor to have the 
support of the nation's preeminent law enforcement organization and the 
leading child abuse and prevention organization.
  Finally, I want to offer my thanks to Steve Twist of Arizona for all 
of his assistance in drafting the No Second Chances Act. There are few 
people in the country that have Steve's grasp of the state and federal 
criminal code.
  The most important function of government is to protect the public 
safety. It is immoral for criminals convicted of the most serious 
crimes, and already behind bars, ever to be given a second chance to 
prey upon the innocent. The enactment of the No Second Chances measure 
would help government meet its fundamental obligation to every man, 
woman and child in America.

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