Gibbons attacks Koster on prosecutor record

Posted to Politics Watch by Kelsey Proud at 3:50 p.m., Oct. 18, 2008

Republican candidate for attorney general Sen. Mike Gibbons sent out an a news release on Thursday in which he directly attacked his opposition, Sen. Chris Koster, and accused Koster of "supporting lenient sentence recommendations for violent criminals." The full text of Gibbons' statement is as follows:

"As the Senate's Leader, I have the responsibility to appoint a member of the Senate to serve on this commission to make sure the best interests of Missourians are protected. I was shocked and disappointed by Sen. Chris Koster's role of supporting lenient sentence recommendations for violent criminals. I appointed him to the commission in March of 2006 because he had been a prosecutor and should understand the importance of protecting Missourians, especially our children, from violent offenders. Unfortunately, the Commission and Sen. Koster failed Missourians. As a former prosecutor, I expected better from his service on this commission than this, and the people deserved better."

According to Gibbons' e-mail, the candidates for attorney general will be meeting for their fourth debate on Monday, Oct. 20 at Clayton High School in St. Louis with members of the St. Louis media serving as panelists.