Last month, Governor Kate Brown announced that her office would be commuting the sentences of approximately 70 violent criminals.
The Governor’s commutations are of individuals who were convicted as juveniles of violent crimes such as murder, rape, sexual assault and manslaughter. An additional approximately 200 convicted juvenile offenders may be eligible for commutation.
Since the Governors announcement, district attorneys, victims rights groups, and victims themselves have been sounding the alarm and voicing their disapproval with the Governor’s decision as well as the lack of notification to victims.
The Governor did not consult with district attorneys, victims rights groups, or even the victims themselves before making the public announcement. Victims and DA offices across the state learned of the decision via news reports in late October.
In a statement issued earlier this month, Coos County District Attorney R. Paul Frasier explained that “by issuing this order virtually the same day as the list was made available to the district attorneys, notifications to victims prior to the order being released was impossible.”
Last week, Washington County District Attorney, Kevin Barton, released a statement criticizing the Governor’s decision. In his statement, Barton also attached a letter from the Oregon Crime Victims Law Center (OCVLC) criticizing the Governor’s processes. Barton’s statement included a list of the 25 Washington County cases affected by the Governor’s commutations.
Barton notes that most of the cases are violent sex crimes committed by teenagers against younger children. The others are violent crimes including manslaughter, attempted murder, and robbery.
In four of the cases here in Washington County, a judge had already reconsidered and denied the offender a “second look” release because of victim and community safety concerns. In one particular case involving the sodomy of a young child at a daycare, the offender was an adult, not a juvenile, at the time the crime was committed.
“I am sharing this information with you because I know you care deeply about the safety of our community and the rights of crime victims. My office, including myself personally, has reached out directly to the victims in these cases to inform them of these developments and I can report to you that the impact of these commutations is significant. We are left without answers to questions about why victims had no advance notice or why the governor did not seek out victim or DA input when making such a monumental decision,” Barton wrote.
“Victims of violent crime should have an opportunity to provide input prior to a commutation and should not be left to learn of the early release of their convicted offenders from news articles.”
The Oregon Crime Victims Law Center (OCVLC) released a similar letter criticizing the Governor’s decision and lack of notice to victims.
“[Victims] learned in the least trauma-informed manner possible that the person who caused their harm is now being considered for release. Some of those [offenders] are not even half-way through their sentences, and others are serving life sentences. This insensitive manner of communication of significant changes in release dates seems contrary to the Oregon Constitution’s guarantee that victims will be treated with “due dignity and respect,” the OCVLC wrote.
District attorney Barton’s full statement includes the OCVLC letter to Governor Brown and a list of the 25 violent offenders in Washington County whose sentences will be commuted.
