The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved Senate Bill 146, dubbed the “truth in sentencing” law. It eliminates parole for state defendants found guilty of one of a long list of felonies. Supporters say it’s reform, but opponents say it’s the same old system with different terminology and a higher cost.
If Senate Bill 146 becomes law, a state sentencing judge can impose a term of years in prison and suspend some of that time. Defendants will not be granted parole, but when they’re released on suspended time, they’ll be supervised by a parole agent.
The bill’s sponsor is Sen. Brent Hoffman. He told the Senate Judiciary Committee that recidivism rates are over 65 percent, so what’s happening now is not working.
He acknowledges prisons are already overcrowded, but he said the state is considering investing millions of dollars in creating new space.
“We’re looking at system-wide reform,” he said. “This is a reform.”
SB 146 is a step toward infusing federal sentencing practices into state law.
Attorney General Marty Jackley spoke for the bill, citing experience in both state and federal courts. He said one advantage in the federal system is that offenders on supervised release get help for conditions that led them to commit crimes.
“There are significantly more resources in the federal system when it comes to treatment, when it comes to sex offenders,” he said.
And Jackley said treatment can prevent recidivism.
“With more supervision, you have less violations,” he said.
Opponents testified that the state doesn’t have the same resources for treatment and rehabilitation as the feds do, and this new sentencing scheme could be costly.
Senator David Wheeler said intended reforms are just relabeling, changing the term “parole” to “supervised release.”
“They’re still going to be out. There’s still going to be supervision,” he said. “We’re just going to call it something different.”
Wheeler said judges now impose sentences knowing that inmates will come up for parole after serving a set percentage of time. If this bill passes, judges can just impose shorter sentences.
He said, “We’re not going to stop judges from getting out calculators and deciding ‘How long do I want this defendant to sit in prison?’”
Having passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, SB 146 now goes to the Senate floor for debate.
