CONLEY: JUDGES NEED MORE POWER IN SENTENCING

Wood County Prosecutor Ginny Conley wants the Legislature to give judges
more discretion in sentencing and create tougher penalties for the use and
manufacture of methamphetamine.

"A lot of these sentences were legislated years and years ago. Times have
changed, crime waves have changed, and I think sentences need to be more
appropriate to the crime," said Conley. Conley predicted legislators will
be addressing the recent rise of computer-oriented crimes, including fraud
and child pornography, which are problems across the nation.

"I don't think we have tough enough penalties for the type of
computer-related crimes we are seeing, and definitely not for the child
pornography," Conley said. "It's a problem all over the country. Child
pornography is so difficult to catch. Once you do, there needs to be
stricter penalties imposed for convictions," she said.

Conley said another area where tougher laws are needed is for drug offenses.

"Especially with crimes involving use and manufacture of crystal meth.
We've had 53 meth houses in our area that have been the subjects of
Parkersburg Narcotics and Violent Crime Task Force investigations," she said.

This drug can be made with readily accessible, inexpensive chemicals. The
prosecutor said the drug is highly addictive.

Conley noted the dangerous nature of manufacturing meth.

"It can literally blow up neighborhoods, not to mention what the exposure
to this drug is doing to those in a household where it's being cooked,"
Conley said.

"I think the Legislature cannot ignore making some tougher laws this year
to address this drug and its various forms. But all the penalties for all
the drug offenses need to be stepped up.

"Many times those types of cases end up going to federal court because the
penalties in state courts are not strict enough," Conley said.

Conley also advocated giving judges more discretion in sentencing, allowing
them to better tailor the punishment to the crime.

She noted the penalty for attempted murder is one to three years in prison.

"We had one case here where the victim was blinded for life. Sentences like
that and two to 10 years for malicious assault seem insignificant compared
to the suffering of some of these victims," Conley said.

"We need to give the judges more discretion in sentencing. Legislators need
to change the penalty and allow the judges to be able to make it more
specific to the nature of the crime," she said.

Changes need to be made in the driving under the influence of alcohol
statutes, Conley said. More supervision should be provided in first- or
second-offense DUI cases once the defendant has served the jail time to
prevent further offenses, she said.

"The problem is once they get out of jail, they may not be required to
undergo treatment in a supervised manner until it's a felony offense. So
they sober up, they get out, but have no tools to work with, so we see a
lot of repeat offenders," she said.

"It's very frustrating. I think we could be more effective on the front end
of these types of cases if changes were made so that additional supervision
could be provided. They may be required to attend Alcoholics Anonymous
meetings or in-patient treatment, but there's no supervision to make sure
they are doing it," she said.

Conley feels the Legislature should look at the disparity between sentences
for some crimes.

For example, in a recent Wood County case, a $3,000 deck was destroyed. The
offense was a misdemeanor destruction of property.

"But for forging a $5 check, that's a felony. That seems inconsistent to
me," she said.

Chief Kanawha Circuit Judge Charlie King, a former prosecutor, said he is
often frustrated by the way the law treats property crimes.

"The comparatively light penalties for theft, destruction of property and
other such offenses may be an invitation to more problems," he said. Conley
said the Legislature should annually set aside time to clear out older
non-applicable, unenforceable statutes.

For example, state code states "if any person commits adultery or
fornication, he shall be fined not less than $20." This law was enacted in
the mid-19th century.

Another code section calls for unmarried people who live together to be
"fined not less than $50 and may, in the discretion of the court, be
imprisoned not exceeding six months."

Another law provides anyone "at the age of discretion" who "profanely
curses or swears or gets drunk in public" can be fined $1 for each offense.
Taxicab drivers who drive with their doors locked can be sentenced to up to
one year in prison.

Wearing a hat in a theater is illegal. And dueling is prohibited. Anyone
who has ever proposed, participated in or assisted in a duel with deadly
weapons is barred from public office.

"For our purposes, it would be helpful to get a picture of what the state's
prison population is going to look like down the road. The more we know the
better we can prepare," said state Public Safety Secretary Joe Martin.

Martin wants the state Supreme Court to appoint a panel to make
recommendations to the Legislature on where reforms are needed.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.