SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Anti-crime activists and some prosecutors are taking aim at the Oregon Legislature's move to reduce many state prison inmate sentences as a way to save money.
Oregon Anti-Crime Alliance spokeswoman Tara Lawrence said Friday that courts and district attorneys around Oregon are being saddled with extra costs and workload from having to conduct thousands of resentencing reviews.
A spokesman for the Oregon District Attorneys Association, Kevin Neely, also expressed concern that some inmates convicted of serious offenses are being considered for early release.
However, criminal justice reform advocate David Rogers called the changes modest. He said the sentence reductions have helped avoid cuts to the Oregon State Police and other public safety programs amid the state's budget squeeze.
At issue is the 2009 Legislature's decision to trim up to 30 percent off prison sentences for some inmates convicted of lower-tier crimes — a move that's aimed at saving the state Department of Corrections about $6 million in the current two-year budget.
Those inmates previously were eligible to have their sentences reduced by up to 20 percent through "earned time" programs.
Since the new law took effect, the corrections agency said it has forwarded 4,100 cases to courts around the state for review, with 2,000 being approved for early release so far. Of those, 445 inmates have already been set free, it said.
Lawrence, the Anti-Crime Alliance's executive director, said the new law has imposed a big workload increase on district attorneys with no boost in state funding to help out.
Among other things, the DAs are required to locate and notify victims of the crimes committed by those eligible for early release, Lawrence said.
"This was billed as a cost-saving measure, but it's created administrative struggles and costs" for many DAs around the state, she said.
Neely said while the Legislature's intent was to offer early release to inmates convicted of property and drug crimes, it's going to those convicted of more serious offenses like assault and criminal mistreatment.
"This law is allowing some violent offenders to be released early," the DAs association spokesman said Friday.
But Rogers, head of the Portland-based reform group Partnership for Safety and Justice, said critics of the new law are making too much of what he called relatively small changes.
For many inmates, the changes will mean release from prison a month or two earlier than under previous law — and only if a judge approves it, Rogers said.
"The Legislature made a smart policy choice to save money," he said. "This is going to help keep state troopers on the road, prevent cuts to victim services and put money into community corrections programs."
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jeff Barker, said Friday he's met with the district attorneys group to discuss the issue. The Democratic lawmaker said a bill addressing some of the DAs' concerns will be considered by the House next year.
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