NIXON: HELP NEEDED ON BORDERS TO FIGHT DRUGS

The Missouri Legislature should pass legislation to help counties along the state's borders fight illegal drugs, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon said Monday.

"We're waging a successful and well-publicized war on methamphetamines in Missouri. As a result, many of the dealers are moving across the state line," Nixon told the Cape Girardeau Rotary Club.

The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate spoke at the Holiday Inn before a crowd of about 60 Rotarians.

Nixon urged lawmakers to pass House Bill 1147, sponsored by Rep. Craig Hosmer of Springfield. It would enable local governments in Missouri's 45 border counties to set up interstate agreements with local governments across the state lines.

The multi-jurisdictional drug enforcement groups would have the same powers to investigate and make arrests as other law enforcement officers in Missouri.

"Illegal drugs don't stop at the state line, and our ability to interdict them shouldn't stop there either," he said.

The legislation also would add a number of chemicals to the list of meth-making materials that are regulated by the state. The bill would require those convicted of manufacturing methamphetamine to pay $6,000 or the actual cost of cleaning up the lab site.

The House already has passed the bill. It is being considered by the Senate.

Missouri is winning some of the battles in its war on crime, Nixon said. In Cape Girardeau, violent crime has decreased 29 percent in the last year.

The state has enacted tougher laws on juvenile crime and put the brakes to a revolving-door criminal-justice system in which criminals did little jail time, he said.

Nixon said the state has revamped its juvenile laws in the past five years to better deal with serious juvenile offenders.

Nixon said Missouri had been hampered by juvenile laws that dated back to the 1950s when "chewing gum in class was one of the top five problems."

At one time, the state couldn't incarcerate juveniles past the age of 18, even if they committed murder, he said.

On another front, the federal government has tightened the appeal process so that states won't have to wait a dozen years to execute a convicted murderer, Nixon said.

But some death-row cases still linger in the courts.

Jerome Mallett remains on death row 13 years after he fatally shot a state trooper along Interstate 55 south of Brewer. A judge sat on Mallett's appeal for five years. Nixon said his office had to sue the judge to force him to take action. Even so, the appeals process in his case could continue for another few years, Nixon's office said later Monday.

In its war on crime, the state also has enacted truth-in-sentencing laws that keep criminals behind bars.

The number of state inmates has more than doubled in the past 5 1/2 years. More than 24,000 people are incarcerated, Nixon said.

Missouri ranks 49th in the nation in the cost of housing state inmates. It costs about $11,000 a year to house a single inmate.

Winning the war on crime will take more than prison cells, he said. Society must find a way to help children before they turn into criminals.

He said students who regularly skip school often end up hanging out with "bad kids" and leading a life of crime. Civic leaders, parents and communities must do more to help keep children in school and mold them into law-abiding citizens.

Nixon said, "We literally are going to win this fight one kid at a time."