GOP CANDIDATE FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL BACKS NEW PRISONS, TOUGHER SENTENCES

The Republican candidate for attorney general said Tuesday that she
supports building more prisons and passing tougher sentencing laws for
juveniles and repeat offenders, adding that incumbent Jim Doyle has his
priorities mixed up.

"We do need more prisons," said Linda Van De Water at a news conference in
Milwaukee. "We need to close the revolving door."

Van De Water, 35, a former Waukesha County prosecutor, also urged Doyle to
drop Wisconsin's antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft, saying the time and
money spent on it could be better used to fight crime.

"Jim Doyle needs to drop this case and get his priorities straight.
Fighting crime that has an immediate impact on people's lives is what
matters most," Van De Water said. "People are not afraid of Bill Gates.
They're afraid of drug dealers, rapists, murderers and others who prey on
society."

Some crime-fighting measures Van De Water supports include restructuring
the juvenile code to include quicker and stiffer penalties for juvenile
offenders, and truth in sentencing, which forces criminals to serve their
full prison terms.

A spokesman for Doyle described Van De Water's charges that Doyle was soft
on crime as "nonsense."

"These are political attacks from someone who as a prosecutor has
recommended that a five-time drunk driver get probation after he seriously
injured two and fled the scene," said spokesman James Haney.

Haney noted that Doyle is endorsed by 30 Republican sheriffs throughout the
state.

Haney said Van De Water's proposed anti-crime agenda is similar to Doyle's.
Both support truth in sentencing and building more prisons.

Haney said the costs to the state of the Microsoft suit were minimal and
that one attorney would spend about six weeks on the case.

In a related development, Doyle and Van De Water agreed to debate at a
meeting of the Milwaukee Rotary Club on Oct. 13 and on Wisconsin Public
Television on Oct. 23.