Byron Dorgan: “On November 23 the Washington Post had a story about a murderer that I want to call to my colleagues' attention. This is…”

“On November 23 the Washington Post had a story about a murderer that I want to call to my colleagues' attention. This is the picture of the alleged murderer, Elmer Spencer, Jr. The headline of the story reads: 'Sex Offender's Arrest Makes an Issue of Mandatory Release.' Let me describe for a moment what I read in the story and how I related it to things I have spoken about on the floor of the Senate before and how disappointed I am that nothing ever seems to change. The young boy who was murdered a couple of weeks ago was a 9-year-old from Frederick, MD. His name was Christopher Lee Ausherman. He attended fourth grade at the South Frederick Elementary School. He had two brothers. The story said he liked Pokemon cards and was developing a real passion for fishing. He was apparently in his neighborhood, very close to his home on the street or sidewalk, and then a maintenance found his badly beaten, naked body in a dugout at McCurdy Field in Frederick, MD. Christopher Lee Ausherman had been sexually assaulted and strangled. The story described how the arrest was made. I want to talk about the fellow who has been arrested and charged with this murder. The fact that he was on the streets in this country to murder anyone is unconscionable and shameful. Elmer Spencer, Jr. was sentenced to 5 years for assault and battery in 1977, 23 years ago, and released 3 years later. Within a year of his release, he raped and attempted to strangle an 11-year-old boy.”