Public Defense

The superduperawesome megacriminaljusticereform bill

By Gideon

is here. I’m going to go join the legislators and stick my head in the sand. (From CTLP)

Update: It seems that a “three-strikes” provision has been defeated.

Second Update:  Home invasion is now a crime, not requiring proof of knowledge of persons present; three-strikes is not on the books. However, the persistent offender law has been re-written to make it easier for prosecutors to seek harsher penalties.

Prosecutors seeking to convict someone as a ?persistent offender? will no longer have to prove that an offender has ?a history and character that ? indicate that extended incarceration will best serve the public interest.? Instead, prosecutors will simply have to show that the defendant has the requisite number of previous convictions necessary to apply a longer sentence.

This, however, still leaves them with the discretion of whether to charge someone as a persistent offender.

Some of the other provisions that were passed:

?Expanding global positioning system monitoring of 300 more criminals out on parole and believed to be the most likely to commit more crimes. The state would have to hire 10 new parole officers to monitor the parolees.

?Providing more residential treatment beds for sex offenders.

?Creating an automated system to notify victims of court hearings and make it easier to allow state agencies to share information about victims.

?Requiring a state-of-the-art computer system.

?Adding a forensic psychologist and two victim advocates to work full-time for the parole board.

?Providing a video link between each prison and the parole board, costing about $250,000 overall, for parole hearings.

?Requiring the courts to provide often-secret juvenile and youthful-offender records to the parole board and Department of Correction.

No measure concerning building prisons or improving rehabilitation were taken up. Those might be addressed in the general session next month.

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Full post as published by A Public Defender on January 22, 2008 (boomark / email).