In a recent story in The Chronicle, several young men from the Green Hill School testified in Olympia in support of a bill that might get their fines reduced, records sealed, and some debt apparently forgiven. I can agree with the concept as long as victims are made whole and have a say in the process. But I always worry that won’t happen.
I’ve been around the criminal justice system for a lot of years, and in two states much has changed. I’ve watched as legislatures tinkered with sentences, reducing judge’s discretion, creating mandatory sentences and fines that couldn’t be suspended.
These fines have become funding systems for one program or another and are pretty expensive. The idea may have made sense at one time, but fines have gone up to a point where some won’t even try to repay them.
I’ve seen felons we can no longer get into prison, and misdemeanants we can’t get out of county jail.
It’s sometimes hard for me to call it a system at all.
But I do have some concerns about what is being proposed and it involves my confidence in state bureaucracies’ ability to effectively manage something like this. Past performance by several of them hasn’t really inspired confidence.
So I really need to know more about how all this would work. Who makes the decisions and follows up to makes sure restitution is actually being repaid?
These are important questions if we really are going to try and make victims whole.
One of the young men who testified, Antonio Vasquez, is serving a 30-month sentence for first-degree attempted robbery that rightfully recognizes “the stigma of my record hinders my ability to restore my victim and my community.” While his efforts thus far are worth noting, it’s always been that way, right? There have always been jobs that a felony conviction would disqualify applicants from having.
Workplace violence has become a big deal, but if violent convictions are sealed, what protects his future employer? Does a person with a sealed record have to declare his conviction on an employment application if it’s on the form?
Another young man who testified was also convicted for first-degree robbery and second-degree assault. Frankly, these are pretty serious charges to seal or hide the fact they ever happened.
I’m not necessarily against some version of this legislation, but even if it’s implemented, I wouldn’t go anywhere near as far as lobbyist Steve Lindstrom did.
“Factoring in the future avoided costs … local court systems and counties will likely come out money ahead when compared to the current situation where there’s recidivism … and returns,” Lindstrom said.
That kind of promise gets used a lot, for a lot of reasons, and I can’t think of a single thing that has reduced government costs or recidivism in any meaningful way.
And, I also can’t remember anyone who promised it would, admitting they were wrong when it didn’t. Instead, they usually say we just didn’t spend enough money and that was the failure, not the idea.
Maybe it’s time to look at the whole justice system. The constant annual meddling has resulted in some sentences that make no sense. For example, recently a convicted sex offender was sentenced to 15 months. I’ll bet you could check at the jail and find misdemeanor offenders, probably traffic-related like suspended driving, serving more time than that right now.
So maybe while they debate the merits of sealing some pretty serious juvenile convictions, like robbery or assault second, they could also make some other meaningful changes that could restore some sense of order to the whole system.
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John McCroskey was Lewis County sheriff from 1995 to 2005. He lives outside Chehalis, and can be contacted at musingsonthemiddlefork@yahoo.com.
