[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 5 (Thursday, January 9, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E36]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RETIREMENT OF CHARLES TRAUGHBER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 9, 2014

  Mr. DUNCAN of Tennesee. Mr. Speaker, I wish today to honor one of 
Tennessee's hardest working and most thoughtful public servants on the 
occasion of his retirement.
  Charles Traughber stepped down recently after a 30-year career as 
Chairman of the Tennessee Board of Probation and Parole.
  Before assuming that role, he spent 10 years working with offenders 
as a prison counselor and as a charter member of the parole board.
  During his 40-year career, Chairman Traughber served the people of 
Tennessee with great honor and distinction and always approached each 
case with the gravity and seriousness it deserved.
  I was a criminal court judge in Knoxville for seven-and-a-half years, 
and during that time I issued thousands of criminal sentences.
  There may be no tougher job--with greater potential consequence--than 
evaluating whether or not a prisoner is ready to re-enter society, and 
I cannot think of a better person to have had in this role than 
Chairman Traughber.
  During his remarkable career, Chairman Traughber reviewed and voted 
on more than 145,000 cases.
  The most infamous person to come before his board was James Earl Ray, 
who assassinated the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Chairman Traughber 
said Ray was denied parole because of the ``seriousness of the 
offense.''
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my Colleagues and other readers of the Record to 
join me in celebrating the exceptional career of a very patriotic 
American, Charles Traughber. Our Nation is a better place because of 
his service.

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