Legislature backlash over criminal release bill is growing

By Taxpayer Association of Oregon

The crime backlash continues to swell in Oregon over the 2009 Democrat led Legislature’s decision to let criminals out earlier to save state funds. The Eugene Register Guard add to the momentum by telling a local horror story. It was about an unlicensed driver who hit and run two people, killing one and injuring the other. He was let out early after only serving 3 1/2 years.

The Register Guard said…
House Bill 3508, that grants early release to some prisoners, as well as the devastating effects of those releases on crime victims, particularly victims of violent crimes. We were told by legislators that violent crimes were supposed to be excluded in the new law, but many were not. In fact, the Legislature failed to exclude more than 40 crimes against persons, as defined by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission rules. High-risk offenders also are not excluded in the new law…
The Register Guard Editorial Board said…
The projected savings for increased “earned time” in the new law is $6 million for two years. While this seems like a lot of money, it’s really not even 0.1 percent in a $55 billion all-funds biennial budget.If it wanted to, the Legislature could have found this amount of money elsewhere, avoiding the trauma to crime victims and the weakening of our sentencing structure. Finally, at the close of each legislative session there is traditionally a “Christmas tree bill.” It is a bill that spends money on the politician’s chosen projects. This year, there was more than $100 million in the bill. Surely the Legislature could have found $6 million to avoid the increase “earned time” disaster.