On December 21st, Washingtonians got a sneak peak at the latest reform radical Democrats want to pursue with the prefiling of House Bill 2001. The bill would radically transform sentencing in Washington by allowing all offenders, including those convicted of violent crimes and sex offenses, to petition judges to resentence them to lesser prison time or even release them after serving 10 years. The judges would be allowed to consider a plethora of factors, including how well an offender is doing in prison. While victims or survivors would have a right to speak at a resentencing, their input carries no special weight under the proposed law.
The bill is sponsored by two leading Democrats, Representative Tara Simmons, Vice Chair of the Community Safety, Justice, and Reentry Committee, and Representative Darya Farivar, Vice Chair of the Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee. This proposed legislation continues the trend of radical proposals by Democrat leadership to focus less on community safety, victims, and accountability and more on radical activism through legislation.
As a deputy prosecutor, who has handled homicides, crimes against children, and violent domestic violence offenses, I am completely opposed to this proposal. The bill would allow murderers, three-strike violent offenders serving life sentences, and predators the opportunity for a lower sentence or release after just 10 years. Survivors would always be left wondering, is this the year my loved one's killer gets out twenty, thirty, or even forty years early? DV and sex abuse victims would have the knowledge that the sentenced imposed by one judge could always be second-guessed by a new one years later. It's a bad piece of legislation and undermines community safety and faith in the justice system.
There is an old saying, "don't do the crime if you can't do the time." Radicals in Olympia want to give going out of business type discounts to those convicted of the most heinous crimes. With the exception of offenses involving stolen firearms possessed by prohibited possessors, these are not property offenses. They are offenders who have killed or seriously hurt people. They have earned their sentences. Let's not give judges an undo button just because someone has been a model prisoner in a controlled environment.
If we are serious about public safety, we will dramatically increase the number of officers in our communities, enforce the laws on the books, and go after high level drug dealers the same way the feds do. If we want to make a difference in our communities, we will expand drug treatment, support families, and address mental health. We can do so much better, but we need to change Olympia - that starts with changing the status quo here on the Olympic Peninsula.
Join our campaign for a better Washington today.
--Matt, your candidate for state representative