Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 20, 1977)
House gets tough on crime: sets mandatory sentences By TOM JACKSON Of the Emerald SALEM — Crime and correc tion are issues over which the Oregon lawmakers struggle virtu ally every legislative session. This session the Legislature is calling for tougher sentences for people convicted of certain crimes. The new tact taken by the Legislature is the initiation of mandatory minimum sentences for some crimes. The House passed three bills Thursday which were hammered out by the Judiciary Committee after long weeks of work. The House also passed a victim's compensation bill. All of them now will be considered by the Senate. One of the bills is aimed at pre venting violent crime Under HB 3041, if a person uses or threatens to use a gun (whether it is operable or not) while commit ting a crime, the bill allows the court to specify a minimum sen tence, although it does not require a mandatory sentence for the first conviction. However, on the sec ond conviction a mandatory minimum of five years is required. The third and fourth conviction re quire mandatory convictions of 10 and 30 years, respectively. The bill was presented as a mmonty report to the House Wed nesday from the Judiciary Com mittee. The original committee bill called for a mandatory two-year sentence for the first conviction and a mandatory life sentence on the fourth conviction. The House rejected the committee bill in favor of the minority report Wednesday. Rep. Bill Rutherford, R-McMinneville, said the bill is aimed at deterring the use of weapons in crimes. “This bill will send the message to people who plan to use guns that Oregon will be very severe and tough oh them. But it is a very reasonable approach to this very serious prob lem." Rep. Wally Priestly, D-Portland, disagreed saying the bill serves “no constructive purpose and will cause more hardened criminals to be released into society.” The bill also provides that per sons convicted of crimes involving the use of a gun would have no access to parole or work release until the minimum sentence is completed. Under another bill, HB 2011, if a person is hired to commit murder or uses a bomb to commit murder he or she would face a mandatory life sentence with no chance of parole or work release. If a police officer is murdered or if a person murders in the course of commit ting a robbery or sex offense, parole or work release may be considered after the first 20 years of the life sentence. Opponents of the bill said man datory life sentences provide no incentive to rehabilitation. Priestly called the bill “a political decision which takes us a step backwards in rehabilitation." Rep Dave Frohnmayer, R-Eugene. said the categories in the bill are "arbitrary.” He added that the bill would make prisons ungovernable since there would be no incentive to reform. “I sup port tough sentences," he said. “But this bill is just plain wrong.' Rep. Mark Gardener, R-Hillsboro, disagreed saying the bill still allows the hope of a governor’s pardon for life sen tences. “These crimes are so heinous that the sentence is jus tified,” he said. The bill passed in a 46-14 vote, but Priestly served notice of pos sible reconsideration. A third bill, HB 2013, creates a system of maximum and minimum sentences for all felons. An Advis ory Commission on Prison Terms will propose ranges of sentences to the State Parole Board. These ranges will be fixed, but the criminal’s age, employment re cord and criminal record will be taken into account in determining the sentence. The bill passed with only one dissenting vote. Opponents to these three bills argued that with population in the state rising and more criminals spending more time in the state penitentiary because of mandat ory and longer sentences, a new penitentiary may be needed in the near future. The victim's compensation bill, HB 2012, was labeled a “mes sage of compassion" by Frohnmayer, who carried the bill to the floor. The bill permits the court to order a convicted criminal to pay damages to the victim of a crime. The payment doesn’t have to be made during the criminal's imprisonment unless he or she can afford it. The sentencing judge can make the payment a condition of parole, however. The judge will schedule the payment plan with the input of the criminal. “The bill is a way of saying that our system of justice is not totally blind," Frohnmayer said. The bill was passed on a 58-0 vote. Straub presents new siting plan SALEM — Gov Bob Straub an nounced Thursday a plan to pres ent a bill to the Legislature which he says will "speed up the siting process for energy facilities in Oregon." Straub's bill, as yet unin troduced. will remove the power to create general energy facility sit ing standards from the Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC). Under the plan, the Legislature will assume the power of setting standards for facility siting. omouO said he penned the bill as a response to court litigation over siting of the Pebble Springs Nuclear plant. “The Pebble Springs decision has dragged on too long," he said. "This bill will eliminate the grounds for long, drawn-out court challenges on these general standards. Straub s bill includes standards to be used in eneray facility siting. The bill states that site approval will only be given for facilities for which there is a demand, and only if the facility is more economical than reasonable alternatives. It also stipulates that the applicant must have sufficient funds for construction and operation of the power plant. The standards also call for minimizing the risk of injury to the public health and safety as well as disruption to the environment. The bill defines, "minimize” to mean: “to take steps to reduce adverse consequences which are justifi able taking economic factors into consideration.” The bill also requires facility sit ing to comply with local land-uso plans, but stipulates that the EFSC may waive local plans or compl ance with statewide plan ning goals. S: s t, l NEXT EMU Food Service BEER FRIDAY MAY 27 4-7 p.m. EMU PATIO Special Deli Tray $1.00 (meats, cheeses, w/salad) Giant Slice Pizza 500 FREE POPCORN!!! i ) ! I CHINA BLUE RESTAURANT 879 E. 13th St. 343-2832 (upstairs next to the U of 0 Bookstore) Serving the Most Popular Northern Chinese Dishes Nightly trom 5 p.m. Gourmet Delights • Individually Prepared Chef's Suggestion: VEGETARIAN TOFU $3.25 Wa Shu Tofu with Black Mushrooms, Green Beans, Bamboo Shoots. High protein value. AO am-A p™ a"d 1 s & SdyBelieves . JSE -ragg; . jasR >» sstSPr. r Feet first GOLDEN TEMPLE*L2U AIDER STREET* EUGENE with shoes by SHAKTI
