William C. Baker: “My colleagues, this is not a debate on whether we are tying the hands of the conferees, and it is not a debate over…”

“My colleagues, this is not a debate on whether we are tying the hands of the conferees, and it is not a debate over whether the States want to do it or do not want to do it. It is not a debate over how much it costs to build a prison cell. It is a debate over how long felons will stay in prison. Violent felons are serving 6 years for murder, less for rape; the public is angry about it, and what are we debating? Whether the conferees are going to have their hands tied. My colleagues, it is lucky they do not have a guillotine out in Hometown U.S.A. because it would not be the hands they would be tying. We have to decide whether we want violent repeat offenders to stay in prison. We have tried determinant sentences, we have tried indeterminate sentences, we have tried prison work to rehabilitate the lesser prisoners, we have tried incarcerating them in warehouses, just holding them for years, and, as my colleagues know, the average felon gets off in 24 months, the average violent felon gets off in around 5 years. I say to my colleagues, It's time. Let's pass McCollum. Let's give them 85 percent.”