Lawmakers Took Aim At Crime Bill Makes Prison Life Tougher, Targets Dwi Offenders, Runaways

On the subject of crime and punishment, the 1995 Legislature’s mood could be felt best in its measure to shake up the prison system.

The bill’s intent: make life tougher for the 11,000-plus inmates in the state’s 13 prison complexes.

Make them go to school or work if they want a TV or access to the weight room. Make them pay to see the doctor. “Give them a taste of the real world,” as Senate Corrections Chairman Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, put it.

The strongly Republican House and barely Democratic Senate didn’t stop with that bill, now on Gov. Mike Lowry’s desk.

They also passed Initiative 159 - the so-called Hard Time for Armed Crime measure - which lengthens sentences for people who commit crimes while in possession of dangerous weapons. It became law despite Lowry’s opposition, because he has no power to veto initiatives.

The Legislature also sent Lowry bills to tighten sentences for repeat drunken drivers; to get a better handle on runaways and to help counties cope with rising jail populations.

There were a few items left on the table. One was passage of legislation to clamp down harder on chronic juvenile offenders, which fell to partisan disputes, and a measure intended to keep sexually oriented material out of the hands of minors, which was vetoed by Lowry. Backers said the issues will be back next year.

The lawmakers’ tough-on-crime mood, which has only intensified since the 1989 Legislature greatly increased sentences for drug offenses, is driven by a loss of faith that they system can stem crime and protect citizens, said House Corrections Chairwoman Ida Ballasiotes, R-Mercer Island.

“We’ve seen crime become today’s number one growth industry. Not only has the number of victims grown, the number of offenders have also increased,” she said. “The system is not working,”

She and other lawmakers view with alarm the growing cost of state prisons, the fastest growing area of the state budget.

This year, along with continuing the trend of tougher sentences for criminals, lawmakers decided to hit the crooks where they live - in prison - with the hope more of them will try harder not to return.

The measure’s initial plan was to require inmates to work or go to school, but the estimated $22 million cost persuaded them to scale back the idea. The bill sent to Lowry would withhold privileges if inmates refused to go to school or work.

Backers believe the link will pull more prisoners into programs, but not so many as to bust the prison budget. Privileges that will be linked to work or school include access to television, weight-lifting and weekend visits with spouse and family, to name some.

The legislation also will require prisoners to pay $3 every time they visit the prison clinic, and will reduce their access to materials considered pornographic.

The “Hard Time for Armed Crime” initiative won broad legislative support after backers convinced skeptics that it most certainly would pass at the polls in November if lawmakers failed to act.

The measure was attacked by Corrections Secretary Chase Riveland as sure to drive up prison populations and costs while making little more than a “symbolic” dent in crime.

He and other detractors said the law casts too wide a net, noting that the law applies to people carrying weapons in the commission of felonies, regardless of whether the weapons are banished or used.

But proponents argued that overall, the law would sweep the streets of more violent criminals, as well as permit executions of drive-by shooters and those who kill during gang-related activities.

The Legislature passed a measure to get a grip on kids who run away. Among other things, it allows authorities to hold runaways for up to five days and permits parents to have their children committed indefinitely for substance abuse and psychiatric treatment.

Lowry vetoed some sections of the bill, including a provision that would have allowed a judge to order a child held for up to six months. The governor said the section was unconstitutional.