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Failing felon supervision
prompts
Republican call for immediate action
House Republicans today
called on fellow legislators, Governor Christine Gregoire and the state
Department of Corrections to take immediate action in response to
publicized failures in felon supervision. Reps. Kirk Pearson and Charles
Ross said Corrections officials owe legislators an explanation about
what's gone wrong and how they will put more priority on public safety.
In the wake of scathing reports detailing the Department of Corrections’
inability to supervise felons finishing their sentences outside of
prison adequately and the subsequent deaths and lawsuits caused by this
failure, House Republicans proposed an immediate solution in the form of
legislation and said joint hearings are in order.
The House Republican bill, sponsored by Pearson, R-Monroe, will be
introduced next week. It will call for a freeze on releasing felons
early with supervision. Violations of release by current felons on
supervised parole will result in them being sent back to prison to
finish their full sentence. Also, the Department of Corrections will be
required to submit a plan on what it would take to effectively manage
the supervision of felons serving their terms outside of prison.
“Quite frankly, we’re taking the approach that ‘enough is enough’,” said
Pearson, Republican leader on the House Public Safety and Emergency
Preparedness Committee. “We need to get serious. There are urgent public
safety issues that need to be addressed right now. My bill would require
the department to immediately assess how they are supervising felons and
hold the line on releasing additional felons into our neighborhoods now.
I know my bill is strongly worded, but we need that kind of
accountability and action. Safety is top priority for House Republicans.
We want the citizens of the state to be assured that we are looking out
for their best interests.”
“The number one thing I hear in my communities is to address public
safety,” said Ross, R-Naches. “We have seen time and time again how
criminals are released into our communities and continue to commit
crimes. We need to remember that protecting families and ensuring safe
communities are our priorities. I’m going to have to explain to the
people of my district this weekend why the sentencing and supervision
guidelines for convicted felons are failing, and why we haven’t
addressed it before innocent victims lost their lives.”
House Republicans also called for a joint hearing on this issue with the
Secretary of the Department of Corrections, the governor and House and
Senate Public Safety and Corrections Committees. Pearson added that no
hearing is scheduled yet, but in light of the urgency of the issue, it
should take place soon.
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CONTACT: Bobbi Cussins (360) 786-7252 or Eric Campbell (360) 786-7720
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