AG CANDIDATE HALL OUTLINES ANTI-CRIME PLAN

Republican attorney general candidate John Hall has unveiled a 25-point plan he says will offer a comprehensive approach to fighting crime and modernizing Missouri's criminal justice system.

"I feel this is a very comprehensive plan, and it has a lot of substance," Hall said at an airport news conference in Cape Girardeau last week.

As attorney general, Hall said he would work closely with local prosecutors and officers to help them do their jobs well.

"If John Hall is elected attorney general, every county prosecuting attorney and law enforcement officer in this state will know they have a friend in the attorney general's office," he said. "I will be an advocate for real change."

Hall said 90 percent of his 25 recommendations were not debated during the past legislative session.

By outlining his plans during the campaign, Hall said he should be able to start developing public support for his issues, which, in turn, will lead to legislative action.

"I think if you can build support for this during an election year, we can get a comprehensive anti-crime package through the General Assembly next year," said Hall.

The central feature of Hall's plan is a truth-in-sentencing provision whereby the sentence one gets is the sentence they actually serve. Hall, who recently resigned to run for office after serving several years as an assistant U.S. attorney in St. Louis, said he believes the state criminal justice system should be patterned more after the federal system.

"I propose the elimination of our current system of plea bargaining and parole, under which most criminals serve only a fraction of their prison sentences," explained Hall. "The current system has become a mockery; it yields sentences that deceive the public and fail to deter criminals.

"In its place we should implement a determinative sentencing system, under which parole is eliminated and sentences reflect the full extent of the defendant's criminal conduct, and every convicted offender serves the full amount of his prison sentence."

Hall said people are frustrated to find criminals sentenced to many years in prison only to find out later that they have been paroled after serving a fraction of their sentence. "I want to make sure the sentence you get is the sentence you serve ... no more parole," said Hall.

He pointed out that for some class C and D felonies sentences range from 10 to 15 years, but many times only 18 months of the sentences are served.

Hall said if criminals are only going to serve 18 months, as part of the truth-in-sentencing process they should be sentenced to 18 months.

Hall said he also supports making it more difficult for people convicted of crimes to get bail while appealing cases. As an example, he said James Pagano of Jefferson County, who was recently convicted of murder, is free on bail while his case is being appealed.

In Indiana laws are different, he said. Boxer Mike Tyson, who was recently convicted of rape, is serving time in prison while his case is being appealed.

Under the present system in Missouri, Hall said all too often the people with the most money are able to post bail.

Hall's plan also calls for increasing the training hours required for law enforcement officers. He said that presently, Missouri's requirement is the lowest in the United States.

Another key component of Hall's plan is dealing more effectively with domestic violence and improving tools that local law enforcement agencies have for dealing with domestic problems.

"I feel strongly that local prosecutors must have a `no-drop' policy in the prosecution of these cases if we are to break the cycle," Hall said. "We cannot let the abuser affect our decision to prosecute a case by intimidating his wife or girlfriend. If the woman refuses to testify, her prior statement can and should be used as substantive evidence against the defendant."

Another possible step would be to eliminate the espousal privilege in domestic violence cases, said Hall.

Some other components of the plan are: to require prisoners to work; expand the authority of judges to issue "no-knock" search warrants in certain situations; preserve the authority for criminal asset forfeiture; vigorously prosecute white-collar fraud so that people convicted are required to serve time in prison rather than just make restitution; and establish units to combat worker's compensation and Medicaid fraud.

Hall, 34, is one of two Republicans seeking his party's nomination in the August primary. The other candidate is David Steelman, a former state legislator now practicing law in Rolla.

Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle introduced Hall at the press conference and has endorsed his candidacy. Of all the candidates running for attorney general, Swingle said, "He's the brightest and the one with the best ideas.

"If he can accomplish half of what he has outlined today, he will be the best attorney general in the history of the state."

Hall said Swingle and other prosecutors and local law enforcement officers provided input into his plan. He acknowledged that because the plan is detailed, it will be controversial, but it would go a long way toward modernizing law enforcement in Missouri.