Tony Zirkle for Congress
About Tony
- 2006-02-21-Tony Zirkle for Congress
- 2008-02-10-Zirkle Proposes Abortion Reform
- 2008-02-12-Zirkle Comments on Luke Puckett's Announcement
- 2008-02-27-Zirkle on FISA and the Exclusionary Rule
- 2008-04-11-Zirkle Answers S.B. Tribune Questions
- 2008-04-11-Tony Zirkle Answers Questionnaire from Michigan City News Dispatch
- 2008-04-14-Zirkle's Final 3 Weeks Schedule of 2008 Primary
- 2008-04-24-Tony Zirkle Answers Logansport Pharos-Tribune Essay
- 2008-04-18-Tony's Final 3 Weeks Contingent Schedule
- 2008-04-25-Tony Zirkle Responds to Death Threats
- 2008-04-29-Press Release 1. TV 2. MSNBC 3. 4-30 & 5-2 Press Conf. 4. 4-30 Penn H.S. Town Hall 5. Pastor Wright 6. 5-3 Rally in S. Bend
- 2008-04-30 Zirkle on Jobs, Health Care, Afghanitstan, Narco-Terrorist States & Gas Prices
- 2008-05-02 Tony Zirkle Jabs Back
- 2008-02-03-Zirkle Offers Pro Bono Legal for Suspended Drivers
- 2004-05-03-Highway Bill Update & May 3-4, 2004 Agenda
- 2004-05-010-Why Tony Zirkle is the better choice for the Republican Party
- 2004-01-07-Zirkle Stakes His Position on Gambling Boats and Money Laundering
- 2004-02-04-Zirkle Speaks on Drug Crime
- 2004-02-25-Education and Affirmative Action
- 2004-03-05-Anti-Gerrymandering and Zirkle's View on President Bush's Marriage Constitutional Amendment
- 2004-03-17-Zirkle launches Web site and accepts Hispanic Leadership Council's invitation to speak on immigration.
- 2004-02-to-04-Taxes and Social Security Reform
- 2004-or-2006-Election Q&A for Lafayette newspaper
- 2004-or-2006-Post-Tribune Q&As
- 2004-or-2006-Terror/Cultural Wars and Porn-Prostitution
- 2004-or-2006-NWI Times Q & As
- 2004-or-2006-Michigan City News-Dispatch Q & As
- 2004-or-2006-South Bend Tribune Q & As.
- 2008-05-02 Site 360 Interview Self-Determination
- 2008-03-18-Zirkle Supports Veterans
- Press Coverage Links
- 2008-04-29-Television Transcript for WNDU & Comcast
Prison / Criminal Justice Reform
We have three times as many citizens in prison today as we did in 1975. That's 2,200,000 prisoners! Only China has more inmates. What's even more troubling is the number of children that we're locking up. It is time for a serious social reformation.
I am proposing that we modify criminal justice to look for the root causes of crime. Let's treat drug addicts and put them on a three year program where they have to remain drug free. If they test positive, they'll start that three years over from the beginning, and each time they fail, the sanctions will increase. With my proposals on the Civil Service Academy, we will have hundreds and eventually thousands of treatment providers to reform those who can be.
We should also put prisoners to work. Many owe child support, and for those who are able and do not pose a security risk, we could place on the Mexican border as security agents and will be farmed out to Highway departments to lower the costs of road repairs and upgrades such as on U.S. 31 and along the Hoosier Heartland between Fort Wayne and Lafayette. Millions of tax dollars will be saved, prisoners will gains some self respect, and children will not be deprived of their support.
Additionally, we should encourage states to adopt sentencing guidelines so that what I've seen will not continue to take place. I have seen a 17 year-old juvenile get an effective 8 year sentence for her first bad check case, while a defendant in South Bend gets straight probation for sexually battering a college student with 3 other guys. I have seen a mentally ill girl get a year in jail for stealing a razor at Wal-Mart, while a hard core major drug dealer was given 2 years of probation in Lake County. While a rapist can bond out the same day he is arrested, a juvenile who steals a candy bar will have to sit for two weeks before any bond is possible. These are just a few of the cases I can site after having served in three prosecutor's offices. We should rethink how we administer criminal justice because it's neither rational nor fair.