Political Quotes

On the recordMarch 23, 1994
some time ago, Jeffrey Dahmer was interviewed on television, no less, and he was asked a few questions he did not like. And he said, ``I do not have to answer those questions. I have rights, too.'' Jeffrey Dahmer stated the fact that he had constitutional rights, and he did, and he does. He did not have to bear witness against himself. He could have taken his fifth amendment, he could have sat back, and he did, and he utilized all of the rights that he had. I would like to talk a little bit about the rights of victims today. I think that we have record numbers of tombstones popping up around America, and everybody is beating their chest about crime, and basically victims' rights have been overlooked by the Congress of the United States. We go out of the way to protect the rights of murderers and everybody, but overlook victims. One of the most specific concerns I have as a former sheriff, and this has happened many times, and Readers Digest has written about it, someone gets convicted of a felony, and they look over at the prosecutor, or they look over at a witness and they say, ``When I get out of here, I'm going to get you.'' And when they are released, many of them come back to the areas, find those people and hurt them, sometimes kill them. I have an amendment, because I believe this bill is silent on victims' rights, in regards to that.

Editor's note · Context

Discussing the rights of victims in relation to criminal justice during a floor speech.

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