AG candidate: sentence guidelines too weak

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Republican attorney general candidate Michael Gibbons is trying to raise doubts about whether his opponent has been tough on crime.

Democratic Sen. Chris Koster has made his decade-long tenure as Cass County prosecutor a key point in his campaign.

Gibbons, the Senate president pro tem, appointed Koster in 2006 to an 11-member panel that crafts sentencing recommendations for judges. The guidelines aren't binding, and judges can levy their own punishments.

Chris Koster

Gibbons said Monday that the commission has been "a failure." He believes its sentencing guidelines are too lenient.

A Koster campaign spokesman said Gibbons supported 2003 legislation lowering sentencing standards. Koster's campaign dismissed Gibbons' criticism as "tired political attacks."