Answers President Trump’s Call for Congressional Action on Violent Repeat Offenders
WASHINGTON — Following President Trump’s call for Congress to enact tougher punishments for repeat violent offenders during last night’s State of the Union address, Congressman Tony Wied (R-WI-08) and Congressman Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07) introduced the Securing Our Streets (SOS) Act to ensure that violent repeat offenders remain behind bars.
“Violent repeat offenders deserve to be behind bars, not roaming our streets,” said Congressman Wied. “For far too long, soft-on-crime policies have allowed criminals to use our prison system as a revolving door and return to the streets only to commit the same violent crimes again and again. During last night’s State of the Union address, President Trump called for Congress to ensure these offenders are finally held accountable, and I am proud to introduce the SOS Act to do just that.”
“Soft-on-crime policies have repeatedly let career criminals cycle in and out of the justice system, and innocent people have paid the price. We saw it in North Carolina with the horrific murder of Iryna Zarutska, whose killer had been arrested at least 14 times, and we saw it in Wisconsin, when Darrell Brooks, a career criminal with a long record of violence, killed six people and injured more than 60 others. The SOS Act finally puts an end to this cycle by keeping violent repeat offenders behind bars where they belong,” said Congressman Tiffany.
Background: During last night’s State of the Union, President Trump called on Congress to enact tougher punishments for repeat violent offenders, underscoring the need to prevent dangerous individuals from being put back on the streets. He highlighted the case of Iryna Zarutska, a young Ukrainian refugee who was tragically murdered in Charlotte, NC, and recognized her mother in the gallery. The President emphasized that her killer was a repeat offender, arguing that tragedies like this show why Congress must act to ensure violent criminals are held fully accountable and kept off the streets. Repeat offenders are responsible for a disproportionate number of serious crimes, and too often they’re put right back on the street to do it again. States often cite capacity constraints and overcrowding as obstacles to enforcing mandatory sentencing. The SOS Act ensures that lack of space is no longer an excuse when it comes to protecting our communities by authorizing a grant for states to support the construction and operation of prisons for violent repeat offenders. To be eligible for the funding, states must first adopt mandatory sentencing enforcement requiring repeat violent offenders to serve at least 85% of their sentences, strengthen pretrial detention laws ensuring that violent offenders stay behind bars while awaiting trial, and enact “Three Strikes You’re Out” laws mandating life imprisonment for violent offenders convicted of three separate violent felonies.
Key Provisions:
- Mandatory Sentencing Enforcement: States must require violent repeat offenders to serve at least 85% of their sentences, eliminating loopholes that allow early release and undermine justice and public trust.
- Strengthened Pretrial Detention Laws: States must revise pretrial detention statutes to ensure that individuals charged with violent crimes are detained when they pose a clear threat to public safety, preventing further harm while awaiting trial.
- Three Strikes Legislation: States must enact “Three Strikes, and You’re Out” laws, mandating life imprisonment for individuals convicted of three separate violent felonies. This ensures that repeat violent offenders are permanently removed from society.
Read the full bill text HERE.
Read the Washington Reporter exclusive HERE.