PolitiFact.com
Statements about Criminal Justice
Harold Metts

Harold Metts

Mostly True

Many measures, each flawed

"Rhode Island has a [inmate] recidivism rate of over 60 percent."

John Lewis

John Lewis

Half-True

'68 comparison doesn't do the trick

"The violent crime rate in America is the same as it was in 1968, yet our prison system has grown by over 500 percent."

Ken Cuccinelli

Ken Cuccinelli

Full Flop

He's worried about "felony creep"

On restoring voting rights to non-violent felons.

Peter Nightingale

Peter Nightingale

Mostly True

Small percentage of U.K. police are armed

"The UK has an unarmed police force and a firearm fatality rate that is 40 times lower per capita than in the U.S."

Jim Sensenbrenner

Jim Sensenbrenner

Mostly False

No FBI; no fine paid

An 11-year-old girl was investigated by the FBI and had to pay a $500 federal criminal fine "because she found an injured woodpecker and put it in a cage to make sure that the bird was OK."

Tavern League of Wisconsin

Tavern League of Wisconsin

Mostly True

If you're a woman who weighs about a hundred, yes

A 0.05 standard for drunken driving means having a glass of wine at dinner could make a person drunk.

Joee Lindbeck

Joee Lindbeck

Half-True

Not just for schools

"Two years ago Providence alone spent $50,000 a year notifying the school department" about residents in the state's sex offender registry.

Peter Palumbo

Peter Palumbo

False

Eight times too high

In Cranston, it costs $5,000 to $6,000 to send out community notifications on just one Level 3 sex offender.

Ed Doyle

Ed Doyle

Mostly False

Zombie guns for everyone!

Proposed gun control legislation "will outlaw practically every firearm, make you pay $100 per firearm, put you into a police database" and make it "nearly impossible" to get a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Ed FitzGerald

Ed FitzGerald

False

Label doesn't fit

"Ohioans want an end to pay-to-play politics."

Republican Governors Association

Republican Governors Association

Pants on Fire!

A KO for the P.O. 14 claim

Accuses Ed FitzGerald of "pay-to-play and corruption politics."

Linda Finn

Linda Finn

Half-True

Police can seize handguns, not rifles

Right now, if Rhode Island police come across a young person with a gun, "they really don't legally have the right to take it away from them."

Arizona Citizens Defense League

Arizona Citizens Defense League

Half-True

A federal felony? It depends

Says a gun bill before the Senate would make it a federal felony to "leave town for more than seven days, and leave someone else at home with your firearms."

Ban the Box RI

Ban the Box RI

True

It’s now up to 31 percent

"In Rhode Island, 28 percent of adults released from state prisons are re-incarcerated within a year."

Facebook posts

Facebook posts

Half-True

Local gun culture might be one key

"Harvard Study Finds States With Most Gun Laws Have Fewest Gun Deaths."

Scott Henson

Scott Henson

Mostly True

Such charges are as rare as pearls

Says Texas has "11 different felonies you can commit with an oyster."

James Bell

James Bell

Mostly False

That's not the joint

Every day, "about 100 people will be arrested for possession of marijuana in Georgia."

Edward Flynn

Edward Flynn

Half-True

Best number available, but laden with caveats

Research found that "over the course of the existence of the Brady Bill ban, the use of assault weapons in crimes decreased by two thirds."  

Paul Howard

Paul Howard

Mostly True

Hard to tie crime drop to one reason

"In Atlanta, since 1994 when the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ (mandatory minimum sentences) took effect, the violent crime rate has dropped 62 percent."

Carolyn Medeiros

Carolyn Medeiros

Mostly False

Claim needs rehabilitation

"There's a tax credit of $2,400 to bond [former inmates] that an employer would get for hiring a convicted felon. There's a federal bonding program -- you can get $5,000 to $25,000 in federal money to hire a convicted felon. And there's federal grants for felons to set up their own small businesses."

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