Street roots., April 15, 2011, Page 3, Image 3

street roots
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April 15, 2011
w h tjlr jn r f i l l i t
■ ■« 11 WMI
Measure I l ’s failing score
card fans sparks o f reform
BY AMANDA WALDROUPE
ST A FF W R IT E R
ast month, the Oregon Criminal
Justice Commission released an
in-depth and critical study of Oregon’s
mandatory minimum sentencing law,
Measure 11,
The Justice Commission, composed of
legislators, prosecutors, defenders and
others involved in criminal justice and
charged with monitoring Oregon’s public
safety sector, spent one year collecting and
analyzing data from the 16 years that
Measure 11 has been op the books.
The 83-page report made a number of
findings, including who receives Measure 11
sentences, how the law is applied in each of
Oregon’s 36 counties, how many people are
indicted with Measure 11 crimes but
subsequently charged with lesser crimes,
and other ways in which Measure 11-ha.»
affected Oregon’s criminal justice system.
In all respects, the study found that
Measure 11 is not working the way
Oregonians were told it would when they
voted on the measure in 1994. The report
“makes a fair case that it falls short of
reaching all of the objectives,” says
Department of Corrections director Max
Williams.
Measure 11 was sold to voters as a tough-
on-crime measure giving prosecutors the
power to giving longer prison sentences to
the worst of the worst criminals to protect
society and victims.
Mandatory minimum sentences requiring
a specific prison sentence for a crime, no
matter the circumstances, would create
xxiJiaiattuicy m aentencing aqrogg lhe state.,.
And the specter of those long sentences
would deter potential criminals from
committing crimes.
But many advocates argue the Justice
Commission’s report debunks that argument
for Measure 11 in its entirety.
“At this point, it’s clear,” that Measure 11
is not.working the way it should, says David
Rogers, the executive director of the
advocacy organization Partnership for Safety
and Justice.
Measure 11 has always been a hot-button
issue for both tough-on-crime conservatives
and liberals arguing that it is too costly and
ineffective.
So the Justice Commission’s study leaves
one to wonder: Has enough evidence
mounted to give opponents of Measure 11
the steam to drive reform?
“People talk about it all the time,” Rogers
says. “There are definitely people actively
talking about the need to address Measure
11 at the Capitol.”
The Justice Commission’s report is the
second critical report on Measure 11 to be
released within the past year. Last summer,
former Governor Ted Kulongoski’s Reset
Cabinet, a group that investigated ways for
Oregon to save money, reviewed the
measure and recommended that Oregon
rein in its prisons spending in order to have
a stable budget One of the main ways to do
The Oregon Criminal Justice
Commission's Findings
E
The Justice Commission’s report on
Measure 11 made a number of
conclusions. Here are some of them:
Offender makeup: 74% of
Measure 11 offenders are white. 91%
are male. 89% are adults.
Previous convictions: Only 30%
of offenders have received a prior
felony conviction. 15% have previously
served time in an Oregon prison in the
past.
Depends on where you live:
“Measure 11 is applied differently
across counties,” the study found.
Among the five most populated
counties irfthe state, Multnomah
County convicts the fewest, only 36%
of indicted Measure 11 offenders, the
lowest in the state.
P H O TO ILLUSTRATIO N
that, the report said, was to make changes
to Measure 11.
Oregon’s prison system would appear to
be a likely target for cuts. Measure 11 has
caused the prison system to add an r
additional 2,900 beds (the current inmate
population, according to the Department of
Corrections, is approximately 13,000).
“(Measure 11 has) caused the prison system
to grow substantially since the mid-1990s ...
by locking a lot of people up,” Williams says.
Oregon’s corrections budget has similarly
skyrocketed.In the-2001, the Department of
Corrections budget was $862 million. Its
budget for the current biennium is $1.4
billion.
“(Measure 11) has been the primary
driving force behind the massive growth of
the prison population in Oregon^” Rogers
says.
“I think financial pressure might lead to
some modification of Measure 11,” says
Mark McKechnie, the executive director of
Youth, Rights and Justice, which provides
legal support and advocacy for youth in the
criminal justice system.
Legislators interested in prison reform
agree.
“This should be the time we’re doing it,”
says Sen. Chip Shields (D-Portland), who
has led some reforms in the Legislature.
Sen. Floyd Prozanski (D-Eugene), a
member of the Oregon Criminal Justice
Commission, chair of the Senate Judiciary
Committee and former prosecutor; is also in
the boat for reforming Measure 11. “We
can’t afford what we’re doing right now.”
Two routes to reform
Measure 11 can only be changed one of
two ways: through ballot measure or by a
vote of the Legislature.
Either path is difficult. Roger's says a
successful ballot measure campaign requires
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millions of dollars, a well-run campaign, and
strong grassroots support.
Pursuing change through a legislative
vote is perhaps even more difficult because
of a law that Rogers describes as “Measure
I l ’s sneaky little cousin.”
That would be Measure 10, passed the
same year as Measure 11. It requires that
any changes made to Measure 11 be passed
with a two-thirds vote in each legislative
body, or 40 House representatives and 20
Senators.
That requirement's extremely unusual, i
The only instances in which a two-thirds
vote is necessary is when the Legislature
votes on a new tax, an amendment to the
state Constitution, and extending the
Legislative session for up to five days.
Thus, McKechnie says, “the biggest
challenge with Measure 11 is Measure 10.”
“It is a very high bar,” Rogers agrees.
“That is one of the most important pieces of
the political landscape with Measure 11 •
reform. Measure 11 will not be reformed
unless there are Democrats and Republicans
supporting i t ”
That may not be altogether impossible.
Last week, California governor Jerry Brown
signed a law that will take low-offenders out
of the state’s prison system and into county
jails, community facilities, and juvenile
facilities. It will save an estimate $13 billion
(representing almost half of the state’s $27
billion shortfall). In Texas — an unlikely state
for prison reform — Republican legislators
backed a reform that invested in drug and
alcohol treatment and mental health
programs that provided treatment to
offenders. Funding was also created for
“re-entry coordinators” who helped
prisoners transition back into society and
helped them find jobs and housing.
Texas’ prison population has declined by
1,050 inmates since 2008.
“The effort in Texas was led by
Ethnic differences: African
Americans are approximately 15%
less likely to be sentence to prison
than white offenders under Measure
11. Hispanics are approximately 40%
more likely to be sentenced to prison
than whites.
Criminal History: People indicted
with a Measure 11 offense who have
at least three prior felony convictions
are almost twice as likely to be
convicted for their Measure 11 offense.
To go to trial, or not go to trial?
Offenders who take their case to trial
are four times more likely to be
convicted under Measure 11 than if
they enter into a plea bargain.
The benefits of having a private
attorney: Offenders who hire a private
attorney are 25 percent less likely to
be convicted of a Measure 11 offense.
Prison beds: If Measure 11 had
not been passed, Oregon would need
2,900 fewer prison beds.
Republicans. If Texas can do it, Oregon* can
do it,” Rogers says.
Chipping away at Measure 11
“There is increasing potential for a
bipartisan move to have some smart reforms
to reel in prison spending,” Rogers says.
“We?re going to be nibbling around the
edges until we actually tackle Measure 11.”
Advocates are united in the reforms they
would like to sfee, which they say will save
money, efficiently reduce crime and
recidivism, and continue to punish criminals
and hold them accountable.
The changes that advocates most want to
see concern giving judges the discretion to
See STRIKING OUT, page 7