A3
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022
Prisoners: ‘There are always
two narratives in every case’
Continued from Page A2
ing release decisions.
Anderson’s hearing is scheduled for
In all, the clinic has represented 78 March 16.
defendants who petitioned for either a par-
“I was so stunned,” said Pelker, who
don or commutation; 46 so far have been lives in Aurora.
granted and 17 are pending. The rest have
In 1996, Anderson, then 17, drove Mariah
been rejected.
Pelker-Ingram, his former girlfriend, to a
According to data provided by Brown’s wooded area of Woodburn, where he had
offi ce, she has granted 1,144 commutations already dug a grave. He stabbed her and
and 60 pardons since taking offi ce; 963 beat her with a shovel.
commutations were related to the pandemic.
Mariah was reported missing; a month
Most clemency applications last year passed before her remains were found by
were rejected; Brown approved about 6% of authorities.
all pardon and commutation petitions com-
Pelker-Ingram, Pelker’s only child, was
bined, her spokesperson said.
three months’ pregnant. She was 17. Pelker
and authorities suspect Anderson didn’t
‘I was so stunned’
want to take care of the baby.
Brown said she has not spoken with any
The teen’s death destroyed her father,
of the victims or their families in the cases said Peggy Wilson, her paternal aunt. Wil-
before her and relies on district attorneys’ son, a psychotherapist who lives in Hous-
offi ces to talk to them instead.
ton, said her brother, James Ingram, was
The governor said she reads letters from unable to cope with his grief and later expe-
victims and loved ones that are forwarded rienced homelessness. He died in July .
by district attorneys’ offi ces.
“There was nothing to console him,” she
“I am well aware that this is incredibly said.
diffi cult for victims and their families,” she
Pelker said Brown’s decision to show
acknowledged.
Anderson mercy baffl es her.
Rosemary Brewer, executive director of
“I just don’t understand,” Pelker said.
the Oregon Crime Victims Law Center, said “There was never any explanation.”
on several occasions she has asked Kevin
Brown last year fi rst began to consider
Gleim, a lawyer for the governor who han- using her authority to address juveniles
dles the commutation process, whether he serving time under Oregon’s Measure 11,
or Brown would take time to talk with vic- the mandatory sentencing law fi rst passed
tims’ relatives about why the governor had in 1994.
granted clemency in particular cases.
In particular, Brown wanted to focus on
Gleim declined, she said.
off enders serving mandatory minimum sen-
Brewer said the news of the juvenile tences but who did not benefi t from 2019′s
commutations in particular was diffi cult for landmark juvenile justice bill. That law aims
victims’ families because many fi rst learned to keep young off enders accused of the most
about it in an Oregonian report last October. serious crimes out of the adult court system.
Brewer pointed out that the rights of
The law sets stringent parameters for
crime victims are enshrined in the Oregon judges to keep them in the juvenile system,
Constitution, which guarantees crime vic- where the focus is rehabilitation. The law
tims “a right to justice, a right to a mean- did not apply retroactively.
ingful role in the criminal and juvenile jus-
Brown said youths have “a unique
tice systems, a right to
capacity for growth”
due dignity and respect,
and should be given a
and a right to fair and
chance to “become pos-
‘WHILE IT IS NOT
impartial
treatment.”
itive members of our
A REPLACEMENT
The Constitution says
society.”
those rights “shall be
“Measure 11,” she
FOR
protected at each stage
said, “removed many
of the criminal justice
COMPREHENSIVE avenues for young peo-
system.”
ple to demonstrate their
CRIMINAL
“For whatever rea-
capacity for change and
son,” she said, “the gov-
JUSTICE REFORM, reformation.”
ernor has decided that
Brown said she is
THE POWER
these
commutations
using clemency as it
take precedence over
was intended: to cor-
OF CLEMENCY
the rights of victims or
rect injustice, which
even a thought for vic-
includes
not
only
CAN BE USED
tims frankly.”
reviewing what she sees
TO ADDRESS
By law, district attor-
as harsh sentences in old
neys are required to be
juvenile cases but also
SYSTEMIC
notifi ed when a person
addressing the overrep-
seeks clemency. The
resentation of Black and
FAILURES WHILE
governor’s offi ce then
Latino people in Ore-
WE WORK TO
asks the district attor-
gon’s prisons.
neys for police reports
“While it is not a
MAKE LASTING
and other information in
replacement for compre-
cases it plans to review.
hensive criminal justice
CHANGE.’
If a case moves ahead,
reform,” Brown said,
Kate Brown | governor of Oregon
prosecutors are given a
“the power of clemency
chance to respond and
can be used to address
include victims’ state-
systemic failures while
ments as well.
we work to make lasting change.”
Marion County District Attorney Paige
Clarkson said she hired an extra staff er to
Panel to help with
help her offi ce respond to the fl ood of clem-
juvenile case-by-case reviews
For now, lawyers for the families and the
ency submissions to Brown in the past two
district attorneys who are suing Brown said
years.
Clarkson said the applications submit- the governor has agreed not to release pris-
ted by Kaplan’s clinic paint defendants in a oners while a Marion County Circuit Court
sympathetic light, often shading the truth or judge decides whether the lawsuit can move
misstating the facts of the crime.
forward. A decision is expected next month.
Kaplan rejected Clarkson’s characteriza-
Meanwhile, Brown’s offi ce outlined
tion of her clinic’s work.
how the governor will make a case-by-case
“There is not one right story when a case review of what it says is an estimated 140
has not gone to trial,” especially in cases prisoners who committed crimes as juve-
settled in plea negotiations, Kaplan said. niles and meet the following criteria: sen-
“There are always two narratives in every tenced before 2020, are not serving a sen-
case.”
tence for a crime committed as an adult and
When Clarkson staff delivers news about have served half of their sentence by the end
the governor’s clemency decisions in a case, of this year.
the victims often ask: why?
This group is in addition to a separate
In a recent case, a victim asked Clark- group the governor commuted who also
son’s staff to ask Brown if she needed to committed crimes as juveniles. That group
change her name or move. “Do I need to of 72 can petition for release after they have
worry about my safety,” the woman asked, served at least 15 years.
according to Clarkson.
Brown’s spokesperson, Liz Merah, said a
“I do not have answers for them,” she small group of “community members with
said.
varied backgrounds in law, law enforcement
Ellen Pelker learned last year that the sen- and adolescent development” will take part
tence of her daughter’s killer, James Ander- in the review of each case and advise the
son, would likely be commuted just as she governor.
was tuning in to a remote hearing, known as
The group is made up of a retired judge,
a murder review, before the Oregon Board a juvenile lawyer, a psychologist, a police
of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision.
offi cer and the leader of a nonprofi t orga-
At a murder review hearing, the board nization that helps people transition from
determines if a defendant should eventually prison to the community, Merah said.
get parole.
Brown’s lawyers will also review those
Anderson’s lawyer announced that cases.
Anderson appeared to be among the group
They will gather information about each
of juveniles whose sentences were com- case from police, prosecutors and the prison
muted by Brown. That meant his case would system, as well as input from victims.
go to the parole board for a diff erent type of
Merah in an email said the governor’s
hearing that would decide his fate.
offi ce expects “only a small percentage will
During juvenile hearings, a defendant’s be approved.”
rehabilitation is the focus of the board’s
Their fate will rest with the governor,
deliberations, though state rules say it can who said she will consider their growth and
also consider the premeditation or deviancy whether they have the capacity to contribute
of the crime. The board will review letters to the community.
of support and letters from victims in mak-
Said Brown: “I will be the fi nal decider.”
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