SHARP PROPOSES ANTI-CRIME PLAN GOP'S PERRY SAYS IDEAS ECHO HIS OWN

AUSTIN - Democrat John Sharp proposed a criminal justice plan Wednesday that
would keep violent sex offenders locked up indefinitely and expand the death
penalty to major drug traffickers and repeat child molesters.

Mr. Sharp, state comptroller and the only Democrat running for lieutenant
governor, also called for putting more prison inmates to work and
retroactive elimination of mandatory early release for state prisoners.

"Making Texas safer must be our top priority," Mr. Sharp said at a news
conference. "My criminal justice reform plan will help accomplish that."

However, a prison spokesman said nearly 88 percent of the state's 141,000
inmates are already working on a daily basis.

And the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that mandatory early release cannot be
taken away retroactively. The Texas Legislature eliminated mandatory early
release for future criminal cases in 1995.

Mr. Sharp insisted that more prisoners could be put to work in Texas,
possibly even in chain gangs. And he said the state should try to pass a law
on mandatory early release that could be upheld in the courts.

Other parts of his "zero tolerance" criminal justice plan would crack down
on juvenile gangs and strengthen criminal penalties against those who
assault teachers.

Announcement of the proposals sparked an exchange between the Democrat's
campaign and that of his Republican opponent, Rick Perry, who said Mr.
Sharp's plan "echoes" his own crime reforms.

Both candidates accused each other of voting for bills in the Legislature
that allowed early release of large numbers of prison inmates. The measures
were passed when the state was under a sweeping court order to end
overcrowding in the prison system.

Mr. Sharp served in the Senate and House, while Mr. Perry, now state
agriculture commissioner, served in the House.

"John Sharp's political rhetoric does not match his weak criminal justice
record," said Perry campaign manager Jim Arnold. "Many of the ideas
announced today are so good, they have already been proposed by state
leaders like Rick Perry and Gov. [George W.] Bush.

"John Sharp is once again following the Bill Clinton-Garry Mauro [Democratic
nominee for governor] playbook. Take other people's ideas, claim them as
your own, and don't give details"

When Mr. Perry outlined a plan last month to crack down on drunk drivers,
the Sharp campaign responded that he - not Mr. Perry - co-authored
legislation to beef up the state's drunk-driving laws.

During his news conference, Mr. Sharp accused Mr. Perry of ignoring public
safety when he voted for a 1987 bill that allowed the early release of
thousands of prisoners.

"I will never put partisan politics above the safety of Texas families," the
Democrat said, referring to Mr. Perry's explanation that he voted for the
bill under pressure from party leaders.

Mr. Arnold said Mr. Sharp, while a state lawmaker, voted for a bill to allow
early release of some prison inmates in 1983 and against a 1981 bill
requiring criminals to pay restitution to victims.

A Sharp campaign spokesman said the 1983 bill allowed the early release of
only a small number of nonviolent offenders.

The plan unveiled by Mr. Sharp also calls for longer prison sentences for
drug pushers and use of tents to house inmates when necessary.

His campaign plans to purchase billboards around the state to promote the
anti-crime initiative.

Mr. Sharp's criminal-justice plan and Mr. Perry's drunk-driving proposal
would have to be approved by the Legislature to become law. The lieutenant
governor presides over the Senate and has a great deal of influence over
legislation, but does not have a vote except to break ties.

At his news conference, Mr. Sharp was asked about death row inmate Karla
Faye Tucker, who is scheduled next month to become the first woman executed
in Texas since the Civil War.

"Here's one human being who put a 3-foot-long pickax 27 times into another
human being and a jury said she was guilty. I would have a very difficult
time overriding that jury's decision," he said.

Ms. Tucker, 38, was convicted in the 1983 slaying of Jerry Lynn Dean, 27, at
his Houston apartment. She is scheduled to be executed Feb. 3.