Political Quotes

“in 1970, I had one of my first jobs. I was in the 9th grade. I sold programs at the University of Georgia football games. They were a dollar each. I made big money. We got a 10-percent commission. And I was coming back from one game, having successfully sold programs for 2 days, and I had my pockets full of one dollar bills, 121 of them. At that moment I was pulled by two men, dragged behind a car, beat up and robbed of all the money. That was when I was 14 years old. Mr. Speaker, that made the headlines of the local paper. It was big news at the time. Today that is just another day in the life of America. The average burglar right now serves a 13-month sentence. The average murder, who is sentenced for 15 years, serves only 8. The average rapist, who is sentenced for 8 years, serves only 3. We have our police officers arresting people for the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th time. We need to have a truth in sentencing bill. The bill that we will not be voting on today did not contain any real truth in sentencing. Mr. Speaker, we need to have that as an important element of the crime package. We also need to have a death penalty provision that puts an end to the endless appeals. Right now death row inmates and their lawyers can make a career out of appealing their cases. The American people, the victims of crime, have had enough of it. I have been a victim. I know what it feels like. I am sick and tired of it. The rest of America is.”