Senate
unanimously approves Benton's fix to state's "Three Strikes" law
Chelsea Harrison Act passes as only
substantive part of a study bill on most serious offenses
March 9, 2007
OLYMPIA…A
change to the state’s “Three Strikes You’re Out” law that would
have saved the life of a young girl had it been in place in1999,
was approved unanimously by the Senate today.
The bill, Substitute Senate Bill
5964, is essentially a study of the most serious offenses that
are subject to the state’s “Three Strikes You’re Out” law.
Benton, although not on the Senate
Judiciary Committee, worked to get his original bill, Senate
Bill 5502 (the Chelsea Harrison Act) amended onto SB 5964 as
part of the substitute before it moved out of committee.
“Sometimes, you just have to be
persistent and creative,” Benton said. “I was not given a
hearing on my bill, this year or last, so I revised my
strategy.”
Last year, after not getting a
hearing on his Chelsea Harrison Act, Benton held his own hearing
on the Senate floor during debate on another bill as he offered
his bill as an amendment.
“I told my colleagues that because
of a loophole, a tiny word difference in our ‘Three Strikes’
law, a three-time felony offender got out of jail and murdered a
young girl,” Benton said.
After his comments, several
senators from both political parties came to him and said he had
a valid issue and committed to helping pass the bill during the
2007 session.
The vehicle for Benton’s Chelsea
Harrison Act started out as an effort to remove certain crimes
from the “Three Strikes” law and would have been applied
retroactively. The substitute that came out of committee sent
the issue to a task force to study.
The only substantive part left in
the substitute bill is Benton’s amendment adding to the list of
qualifying crimes under the “Three Strikes” law: any
out-of-state conviction for a felony offense with a finding of
sexual motivation if the minimum sentence imposed was ten years
or more.
“The various states define the
same crimes in different ways,” Benton said. “Using the 10-year
minimum sentence criteria ensures the crime doesn’t have to be
named the same as it is under Washington’s ‘Three Strikes’ law.”
SSB 5964 is now before the House
of Representatives for consideration.
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For more information contact Penny Drost at (360)
786-7522 or
penny.drost@leg.wa.gov
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