***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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**STATEMENT FROM STATE SENATOR JORDAN CARTER ON THE ORGANIZED RETAIL THEFT BILL ** DENVER — State Senator Jordan Carter of Colorado today announced he will vote no on Missouri's organized retail theft bill, casting his opposition as a statement of principle even as the measure is expected to pass.

"Let me be clear: theft is wrong, and people who break the law should answer for it," Carter said. "But if we are honest about who ends up in these cases, we have to face a harder truth. For too many Americans, crime becomes the path they take to provide for themselves and their families. That doesn't excuse it — but it should inform how we respond to it."

Carter offered an amendment to reserve a portion of the bill's grant funding for prevention, intervention, and re-entry programs — without taking a dollar from prosecutors or enforcement. He argued that the surest way to bring down crime is to keep people from becoming repeat offenders in the first place, through jobs, treatment, housing, and a real second chance.

"I don't represent Missouri, but I take every bill that comes before this body seriously, and I'll weigh in on principle wherever a vote is cast," Carter said. "This bill addresses crime, but it stops at punishment. We should punish those who do wrong — and we should do everything in our power to make sure they don't do it again. That means setting people on a better path, not just a harsher one. Because this measure will pass without my vote, I am voting no as a statement: we should be working to reduce crime and help people, not simply react to it."