‘Soft on crime’ attacks target Republicans who favor changes

By SARA BURNETT and SEAN MURPHY
Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — With violent crime increasing in much of the U.S., Republicans see a winning strategy in portraying Democrats as soft on crime ahead of this year’s elections. But the attacks are different in Oklahoma, where Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt is being blamed for mass commutations and a crime that involved cannibalism. The criticism of fellow Republicans is intensifying a split within the GOP between hard-liners and those conservatives who have shifted to support alternatives to prisons, largely as a way to save money. Groups that advocate various types of criminal justice reform worry the attacks could jeopardize meaningful changes.