House committee kills Benton's fix to state's "Three Strikes" law

Chelsea Harrison Act passed the Senate unanimously

March 31, 2007

OLYMPIA…A change to the state’s “Three Strikes You’re Out” law that could have saved the life of a young girl had it been in place in1999, died in the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee yesterday. The measure, Substitute Senate Bill 5964, unanimously passed the Senate on March 9.   

The bill was given a hearing in the House committee on March 26, but the chair refused to bring the bill up for executive action before the March 30 deadline for House committees to approve Senate bills. 

“I worked up to the last minute to get the chair to move the bill, but he refused,” Benton said. “The bill fixed a tiny word difference in our “Three Strikes” law that eight years ago allowed a three-time felony offender to get out of prison and murder a young girl. If it happened once, it can happen again. Letting this bill die is unconscionable.  

“The 1999 murder of Chelsea Harrison in Clark County is truly a tragedy,” Benton said. “This child would still be alive today if my bill had been law in 1999. Her killer, Roy Wayne Russell, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, but got out on appeal because one of his ‘Three Strikes’ crimes was committed in Arizona.” 

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 proposed substitute before it moved out of committee. 

SSB 5964 is essentially a study of the most serious offenses that are subject to the state’s “Three Strikes You’re Out” law. 

The only substantive part of 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.” 

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Additional contact: Penny Drost at (360) 786-7522
or penny.drost@leg.wa.gov