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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (July 7, 2004)
JJnrtlanò ODhsmwr Page A2 Register Now for 6th Grade and 7th Grade Adding 8th Grade In 2005 OPEN HOUSE Tuesday, July 27th 7:15 PM Located In The Beautiful Classrooms Of Blazers Boys & Girls Club 5250 NE MLK 5 0 3 -7 8 9 -9 0 9 9 Call Now To Register -- Space is Limited VICTORY Middle School 5250 NE MLK (Near Killingsworth) 503-789-9099 FREE Public Charter School July 07, 2004 Sentenced to HARD TIME continued from Front into Measure 11, people began re alizing that the net was too big, encompassing too many people who had never been in trouble be fore," said Deborah Smith, a Port land State professor who teaches a course titled Racism Within the Justice System. Measure 11 offenses include assault, murder, rape and sexual abuse, arson, robbery and kidnap ping, carrying mandatory minimum sentences of anywhere from 70 to 300 months. Juvenile offenders are tried as adults at the age of 15 under M ea sure 11. They’re assigned proba tion officers for adults who often have larger caseloads than their youth counterparts. Judges cannot make distinction between first and multiple offend ers or an individual’s circumstance for Measure 11 crimes. Measure 11 also places an “inexpungible” or permanent felony on a juvenile’s record. Former state representative and African-American community ac tivist Jo Ann Bowman helped to organize Parents AgainstCruel and Unusual Punishment (PacUp), a group supporting parents of kids INSTITUTION photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserve * The arbitrary tough on crime Measure 11 has helped Till new prisons across the state, like the Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla. nal justice system is that it dispro- portional impacts com munities of color.” Paul Levy, an attorney trainer with the Metropolitan Public De fenders agrees that Measure 11 is overbroad and damaging to young people. “Y outhful offenders who make their first m istake have a huge price to pay,” he said. "The first tim e offender is treated the same as the m ulti-tim e offender. It’s a law not capable o f taking in d i vidual circum stances into co n sid eratio n .” Donald Lincoln, a program su pervisor overseeing youth offend- * its insane to create a criminal justice system that has no flexibility. It puts all the power in the hands of the district attorney. - Former State. Rep. Jo Ann Bowman Minimum Sentences W » 1 :-f: Aggravated Murder Murder* 30years-life-death 25years Attempt to commit aggravated murder Conspiracy to commit aggra v. murder Manslaughter!* 10 10 10 8 ,4 months 8 ,4 months 8 ,4 months 7 ,6 months 7 ,6 months 7 ,6 months 7 ,6 months 7 ,6 months 7 ,6 months 6 ,3 months 6 ,3 months Rape I* Sodomy I* Unlawful Sexual Penetration I* Attempt to commit murder Conspiracy toconunitmurder Assault I* Kidnapping I* Robbery I* Arson I Manslaughter II* RapeH* Sodomy II* Unlawful Sexual Penetration II* Sexual Abuse I* Assault 11* Kidnapping II* Robbery II* UsingaChild in a Display of Sexually Explicit Conduct Compelling Prostitution ■ V 6 ,3 months 6 ,3 months 6 ,3 months 5,10 months 5,10 months 5,10 months 5,10 months 5,10 months * Original Measure 11 Offenses convicted o f Measure 11 crimes. O ther organizations such as the Oregon Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, have also taken up the cause. “It does such a disservice to the w hole idea o f ju stice ,’,’ said, Bowman. " It’s insane to create a crim inal ju stice system that has no flexibility. It puts all the pow er in the hands o f the district atto r ney. The ju d g e who is im partial c a n ’t use his skills to m ake the d ecisio n .” “What we know about our crimi- ersin Multnomah. Washington and Clackamas counties, says he sees how Measure 11 affects young people, directly. “T h is w as c le a rly to d e te r youth from getting involved in serious crim es hut w hat ends up happening is you have youth that have never had a relationship with the courts in for a length o f tim e. W hether it’s your first tim e or your 25th tim e, y o u ’re going to be charged the sam e,” Lincoln said. According to Lincoln, it’s par ticularly hard for youth to rejoin society with a Measure 11 offense on their record. “ It’s going to be difficult co m ing out as a felon. G oing in at 17, com ing out a t7 5 , you haye noth-., ing but a t'e|pny charge; haqptipg, you for the rest o f your life.” A ballot measure attempting to repeal Measure 11 in 1999 was voted down, largely because o f a pro- Measure 11 platform from one-time can d id ate for g o v ern o r K evin Mannix during hiscampaign for the state attorney general. i Since then, the governor has convened a major task force study ing all facets o f sentencing in the state. “I think it harms society to label 16 year olds felons for life. They ’ re going to have such a tougher time becoming a productive member of society, getting and keeping a job," said Smith, who was also a trial lawyer, often defending Measure 11 cases. “To automatically set up all these kids that way, is very dis turbing to me.” MMMMMMMNHHMM R R W M M M M M Better College Opportunities Promised Mandatory Sentences Faulted New Principal: Cottrell White, Jr. Victory Chairman o f the Board, Mariano “Dan" Lucero (Left), and Victory advocate Donna Maxey welcome new Victory Principal Cottrell White. Jr. (Right). Beating the National Average Victory students are beating the national average! Test scores prove it. Your child can join a winning team. Call us today. Victory Has . . . i He said although college (A P)— Democratic presi graduates will earn $9(X),000 dential candidate John Kerry more over their careers, less says if he’s elected president, I million more students will than a third o f all Americans graduate from college during and less than a fifth of black his first five years in office Americans have a four-year and he will bring a special degree. focus to boosting opportu K erry’s education plan nities for low-income and mi would require colleges to re nority students. port to parents and students annual data on the number of “We need to move toward m inority, low -incom e and the day when four years of college is as universal and Democratic Presidential middle-income students en affordable as a high school Candidate John Kerry rolling and graduation. education is today.” Kerry told the Rain His plan would make a special push to bow-PUSH Coalition. encourage students to study. (AP) — Many get-tough approaches to crime don’t work and some, such as mandatory minimum sentences for small-time drug offenders, are unfair and should be abolished, a report from the American Bar Association said. Laws requiring mandatory minimum prison terms leave little room toconsider differences among crimes and criminals, an ABA commission found in its study of problems in the criminal justice system. More people are behind bars for longer terms, but it is unclear whether the country is safer as a result, the ABA said. The report and recommendations for changes in sentencing, prison conditions and programs for re leased prisoners follow criticism of the criminal ju s tice system last year from Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. • 15:1 Student-to-Teacher Ratio • FREE lllition (Equal Opportunity) • Theme-Based Curriculum • Certified Teachers • Grades Based on Performance • Before and After School Help • 6 Annual Field Trips • ESL and Special Ed Welcome VICTORY Middle School MMMMM Cosby Doesn’t Mince Words on Black Ills continued from Front the white man is doing against us. And it keeps a person frozen in their seat, it keeps you frozen in your hole you’re sitting in.” Cosby lamented that the racial slurs once used by those who lynched blacks are now a favorite expression of black children. And he blamed parents. “W hen you put on a record and that record is yelling 'n ------- this and n------ th a t’ and y o u ’ve got your little 6-year-old, 7-year- old sitting in the back seat o f the car, those children hear that,” he said. He also condemned black men who missed out on opportunities and are now angry about their lives. “Y ou’ve got to stop beating up your women because you can ’ t find a job, because you didn’t want to get an education and now you’re (earning) minimum wage,” Cosby said. “You should have thought more of yourself when you were in high school, when you had an op portunity." Jlortlanb (©bseruer Established 1970 USPS 9 5 9 -6 8 0 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 97211 5250 NE MLK (Near Killingsworth) 503-789-9099 FREE Public Charter School Equal Opportunity lor A ll Victory Middle School admit-» students o f tiny race, color, nationality and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school ♦ Charles H. Washington EDiTor.Michael L eighton R e p o r t e r : Jaymee R. Cuti D istrirution M anager : Mark W ashington C reative D irector : Paul N eu feld t O ffice M anager : K athy L inder E ditor - in - c h ie f , P uilisher : “Dogs, water hoses that tear the Cosby appeared Thursday with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder bark off trees. Emmett Till,” he said, and president o f the education naming the black youth who was fu n d , w ho d e fe n d e d the tortured and murdered in M issis sippi in 1955, allegedly for whis entertainer’s statements. "Bill is saying let’s fight the right tling at a white woman. "And you’re fight, let’s level the playing field,” going to tell me you’re going to Jackson said. “Drunk people can’t drop out of school? Y ou're going do that. Illiterate people can’t do to tel I me you're going to steal from a store?" that.” Cosby also said many young Cosby also said he w asn’t con people are failing to honor the sac cerned that some whites took his rifices made by those who struggled comments and turned them “against and died during the civil rights our people.” movement. “Let them talk." he said. The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and w ill he returned i f accompanied by a self addressed envelope A ll created design display ads become the sole property o f the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent o f the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition o f such ad. © 1996 T H E P O R TLAN D OBSERVER A L L RIGHTS RESERVED. 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