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WEST PALM BEACH (CBS4/AP) ― Gov. Jeb Bush erred when he entered the bitter fight over whether to keep brain-damaged Terri Schiavo alive because government should not be involved in end-of-life decisions, Attorney General Charlie Crist said Thursday.

"I am pro-life and I respect life," Crist, a Republican candidate for governor, said at a gathering of the nonpartisan Forum Club of the Palm Beaches.

"There are some decisions that ought to be left to God and family," Crist said. "Had I have been governor, I would have not done the same thing" as Bush.

Crist's Republican challenger, Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, hedged a bit, noting the importance of having a living will, something Schiavo did not have.

"These kinds of end-of-life matters do not belong in government," Gallagher said. "But when these kinds of situations come in front of me, I would always err on the side of life. I think that's what you must do when you don't know anything else."

Schiavo was at the center of a 15-year legal fight between her husband, Michael Schiavo, and her family over whether she should be kept alive with a feeding tube after a brain injury.

Congress, President Bush and Gov. Bush pressed to keep Schiavo alive. Ultimately, the courts sided with Schiavo's husband. She died of dehydration on March 31, 2005, after having her feeding tube was removed.

The Republican gubernatorial candidates also addressed crime, the economy, prayer in public schools, the environment, and property taxes.

Crist, a former education commissioner now in his fourth year as attorney general, noted that violent crime in Florida is at a 34-year low.

Crist cited the importance of passing the "anti-murder" bill now working its way through the Legislature, a measure that would allow judges to put violent criminals back in jail if they violate probation. He has made the bill one of his top legislative priorities.

"When somebody is put on probation it is a privilege, it's not a right," Crist said. "This anti-murder bill will simply say ... that if they violate probation, they will go back to jail."

The bill is similar to legislation that failed last year when lawmakers questioned the high cost of keeping thousands of additional suspects in county jails pending trials.

Gallagher said he would make crime a top priority, specifically for child sex offenders.

"I will make sure we're the toughest state in the nation when it comes to punishing our sexual predators," Gallagher said. "The bottom line is if you touch kids, you'll pay."

Gallagher touted his fiscal superiority in managing state money, touching on the economy, taxes and the soaring cost of insurance.

"Florida's economy is an economic model. We lead in job creation. We're sitting with a 3 percent unemployment rate and our state is doing well because of that," he said, adding that the state needs property tax reforms to continue to prosper.

"I believe property tax should be limited to growth plus inflation," Gallagher said. "We are facing some major challenges and it's going to take somebody who understands those challenges to help carry us through."

Crist said the state needs "less taxing, less spending, less government and more freedom."

The candidates agreed when asked by high school senior Amie Bass, 17, what their thoughts were on prayer and Bible teachings in school.

"I don't have a problem with student-led prayer anywhere," Gallagher said. Crist noted that as a member of the state Senate, he voted for student prayer. Both agreed the Bible belongs in schools.

The candidates also agreed that protecting Florida's environment was important and that the nation needs to secure its borders and stop illegal immigration.

Finally, both agreed on the most important topic of the day when asked if forced to vote for a Democrat for governor, would it be for State Sen. Rod Smith of Gainesville or U.S. Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa.

"I wouldn't vote for either one of them because I think both of us are better," Crist said to applause. "And I guess I should add I'm going to vote for me."

"I agree with Charlie," Gallagher added. "Either one of us is better than both of them.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)