LEGISLATURE REPEALS LAW

Bill tough on 11 crimes passes

OKLAHOMA CITY -- After two years of debate and controversy, the state
Legislature killed a politically thorny truth-in-sentencing law Wednesday.

Lawmakers also passed a bill that creates community sentencing pilot
projects in 10 counties and requires those who commit 11 ``deadly sin''
crimes to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.

Gov. Frank Keating signed both measures Wednesday, the last day for
lawmakers to take action on House Bill 1213.

Passed in 1997, the original truth-in-sentencing law was repeatedly delayed
until Thursday as lawmakers attempted to hammer out problems with the
measure. The law was initially acclaimed as a get-tough-on-crime measure
that would make serious offenders serve 75 to 85 percent of their sentences
before the possibility of release. But law enforcers soon argued that the
bill would cause some offenders to receive lesser terms under its complex
sentencing grid matrix.

Faced with an impasse on how to fix the law, the Legislature met in special
session earlier this month. But Senate Republicans refused to vote for an
emergency clause on the repealer, which prompted lawmakers to meet on
Wednesday.

The House and Senate repealed HB 1213 with no debate. The House voted 89-4
for repeal, while the Senate voted 39-1.

``We got rid of a well-intentioned but flawed law and replaced it with one
that's tough on crime and hard on criminals,'' said Senate President Pro Tem
Stratton Taylor, D-Claremore.

Sen. Jeff Rabon, D-Hugo, said: ``People resent how this has been demogogued
and politicized to death. . . . It's time to move to other issues.''

The repeal of HB 1213 means that jury sentencing -- which would have been
eliminated in all but capital cases -- will continue in Oklahoma.

The repeal bill also does away with most statutory early release programs,
but it allows the state cap law to remain in place. The cap law allows some
offenders to receive as much as 60 days off their sentences if the prison
system's population tops 95 percent of its capacity.

Also passed was House Bill 1009x, a new crime bill that requires offenders
who commit certain serious crimes after March 1, 2000, to serve at least 85
percent of their sentences before they can be considered for early release.
The 11 ``deadly sins'' include first- degree murder, first-degree rape,
first-degree burglary, child abuse, child pornography, lewd molestation of a
child, robbery with a dangerous weapon, first-degree arson, bombing,
forcible sodomy and child prostitution.

Senate Minority Leader Mark Snyder, R-Edmond, served notice that while he
would vote for the bill, he planned to come back next year to attempt adding
up to 31 other crimes to the ``deadly sins'' list. He said these include
crimes such as assault with a deadly weapon, second-degree murder and
second-degree rape.

House Minority Leader Fred Morgan, R-Oklahoma City, said he also wanted to
revisit the issue next year.

House Speaker Loyd Benson, D- Frederick, said he has no interest in adding
new crimes to the bill, nor in making any other major changes for now.

``We have to sit back and look at the entire system for a while before
someone wants to embark on this project again,'' Benson said.

The bill also outlines pilot community sentencing projects to begin March 1
for less-serious, nonhabitual offenders. The bill does not name the counties
eligible for community sentencing, but lawmakers have agreed on 10 deemed
most receptive to community programs. They include Tulsa, Grady, Wagoner,
Cherokee, Pontotoc, Hughes, Seminole, Rogers, Mayes and Craig counties.

Under the pilot programs, nonviolent, nonhabitual offenders who receive
suspended or deferred sentences can be sentenced by a judge to
community-based programs, such as restitution, drug rehabilitation,
education or work programs. The Department of Corrections has set aside $2.5
million to fund the pilot programs.

Community program sentences would be based on the recommendations of the
district attorney.

Keating said community sentencing can be used to divert nonserious offenders
from a life of crime. He also said concerns expressed by retailers that the
bill would impair the ability of judges to order offenders to make
restitution in bogus check cases was unfounded.

Sen. Gene Stipe, D-McAlester, voted for the measure but added it represented
a vote of ``no progress'' on the issue of criminal justice reform. Some
lawmakers said that under the new bill, offenders who commit the same crime
can still get vastly different sentences in different parts of the state.
The original truth-in-sentencing grid was meant to correct that situation.

The House voted 85-10 for HB 1009x; the Senate voted 42-3.

Also approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Keating on Wednesday
was House Bill 1011x, a ``speedy trial'' bill by Rep. Frank Davis,
R-Guthrie, which was intended to ensure that people in jail for up to a year
receive a trial.

Brian Ford, World Capitol Bureau reporter, can be reached at (405) 528-2465
or via e-mail at brian.ford@tulsaworld.com.