Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 7, 1994 TAG: 9409070136
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND NOTE: ABOVE LENGTH: Medium
``I certainly didn't mean to mislead anyone ... I do apologize,'' said Allen, who on the show highlighted seven cases of murder and rape that he said would have been prevented under his plan.
In fact, court records show - and Allen aides now acknowledge - the proposal would have clearly prevented only one of the crimes.
But Allen noted that analysts have identified more than 4,000 crimes that would have been prevented between 1986 and 1993 under his plan, and Richmond Mayor Leonidas Young said recently that 44 percent of those arrested in his city this year for murder would have been behind bars at the time of their crime under the Allen plan.
The televised comments ``should not detract from the fact that three out of every four violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders,'' Allen said.
However, that statistic includes ``repeat offenders'' previously convicted of misdemeanors as well as felonies. Under the Allen plan, the only way a violent criminal's prior record would trigger a stiffer sentence is if he had previously committed a violent felony.
According to a state study of 1990-92 records, just 18 percent of those convicted of a violent crime would fit into the category of having a prior violent conviction. However, the study did not consider juvenile records, which would be counted under the Allen plan.
It's not known how the percentage would increase if convictions as a juvenile were included.
Meanwhile, the governor continued his offensive on the $850-million plan to keep violent criminals locked up longer, disclosing that the Democratic chairmen of powerful Virginia House and Senate money committees - Sen. Hunter Andrews, D-Hampton, and Del. Robert Ball, D-Richmond - have signed on as co-sponsors.
In a noon speech, Allen reiterated that he will ask Virginians to approve a general obligation bond issue to fund part of the plan, but he outlined several alternatives that could make the bond issue smaller than expected. He also said a referendum on the bond issue might be delayed until 1996.
In the short term, Allen said, any prison construction will be funded through public building authority bonds, which do not require voter approval. The state has untapped authority to issue about $175 million in prison construction bonds, he said.
Responding to questions after his speech, Allen said he was upset to learn that his televised comments last June were incorrect. Asked if aides were to blame for the misstatements, he said, ``I was the one who said it, so it's my fault.''
According to aides, the victims who appeared on the June program were enlisted for a show in March about violent crime. Jo Ann Bruce, a victims' rights advocate from Richmond, arranged the earlier appearances. But she was not asked to come up with cases where the perpetrator was on parole, or where the case would have been affected by the governor's plan.
by CNB