TOO MANY CRIMINALS, TOO LITTLE SPACE

Convicted criminals are filling up North Carolina prisons faster than the
state can build them, causing structured sentencing laws to be examined
more closely.

The General Assembly directed the North Carolina Sentencing Commission to
study structured sentencing after the last legislative session.

The commission will present its recommendations to the General Assembly in
May, said Department of Corrections Secretary Theodis Beck.

Information on the Web site for the N.C. Administrative Office of the
Courts claims the state established a structured sentencing system in 1993
in order to restore credibility to sentencing. Under structured sentencing,
anyone convicted of a felony or misdemeanor crime committed on or after
Oct. 1, 1994 is not eligible for parole.

The law classifies offenders on the basis of the severity of their crime
and on the extent of their criminal record. A person can be sentenced as a
habitual felon if they have had three prior felony convictions.

Structured sentencing increased the state's prison population from about
21,400 in 1993 to about 35,000 in 2000. Local jail population increased
from about 9,000 to 15,000 in seven years across the state.

Lenoir County Assistant District Attorney Imelda Pate said the prospect of
changing the way habitual felons are sentenced is worrying district
attorneys across the state.

"They put (structured sentencing) in place and wanted us to follow it,"
Pate said. "We've been abiding by the law and now they want to change it on
us. If people are out committing crimes, are we supposed to look the other
way?"

Felony crimes are classified into letter classes from Class A to Class I.
Murder is a Class A felony.

If a person has a felony conviction and is classified as a habitual, their
crime is automatically classified as a Class C felony, which carries a
sentence of between four years and eight months, and 17 years and five months.

Selling cocaine and second-degree burglary are among Class G felonies.
Breaking and entering is an example of a Class H felony, and drug
possession and forgery are Class I felonies.

If structured sentencing is changed and someone has been convicted three
times of a class G, H or I felony, the district attorney's office can only
count it as one felony conviction.

Until now, convicts reached habitual felon status after three felonies.

In general, persons convicted of crimes have points added to their record
based on the severity of the charge. Each new conviction adds to that
tally, meaning a person convicted of consecutive felonies could get a
stiffer penalty than if they had fewer convictions on their record.

However, once habitual felon status comes into play, judges may hand down
longer sentences than would be possible simply by adding the points from
previous convictions.

Under an NCSC proposal, even if a person had been convicted three times on
any combination of Class G, H or I felonies, only the tally of conviction
points on that person's record would be considered in sentencing.

On the fourth conviction, prosecutors could only introduce one of the three
previous G, H or I felonies for consideration during the sentencing phase.

"That will do away with habitual felons," Pate said.

"If a person has forged checks, sold drugs and been convicted of breaking
and entering, nothing we can do will rehabilitate them. We need to give law
enforcement some relief and classify them as a habitual felon."

Prosecution of violent crimes would not be affected by the shift, Pate said.

This is because conviction on murder - a Class A felony - already results
in life without parole or a death sentence. Similarly, rape and armed
robbery, which are Class B felonies, carry stronger penalties than can be
given for the nonviolent crimes covered by habitual felon legislation.