Published: July 14, 2008 09:09 am            

On the new parole policy

Guest View

By Eddy Montgomery, Commonwealth's Attorney



The Herald-Leader and the Courier-Journal have written editorials about the new parole policy adopted by the State. They back the policy because too many people are in prison and they are concerned about people on parole being sent back to jail for "technical violations." The editors uphold this policy as a cost saving measure. The reality of the situation is that it is hard to violate parole. People are not sent back for technical violations. They are sent back for doing methamphetamine, heroin, crack cocaine , getting new convictions and a whole host of reason that are not merely technical.The law in Kentucky is that possession of most drugs,except marijuana, is a class D felony. That is one to five years in prison. I fail to see how committing a felony while on parole is a"technical violation." If you have those drugs in your system at some point you possessed them which is a felony. The Courier-Journal mentions failing to show up for a meeting with your parole officer as a technical violation. The very basic premise of parole is to show up for a meeting with your parole officer. Most of the time appointments are missed because they are afraid they will be drug tested and fail. In Drug Court a missed test is considered a positive test. I wonder if management at the Herald-Leader or the Courier-Journal would consider not showing up for work a "technical violation." How about failing a drug test, would they consider that a " technical violation?" The truth of the matter is that very few are sent back to prison on their first violation of parole. In fact many have received new convictions, failed several drug test and are not sent back. To imply that prisons are full of innocent people put there by mean prosecutors for technical violation is dishonest and misleading.

I have been a prosecutor in Kentucky for over twelve years. I have been practicing law for almost eighteen years. In the military I was a prosecutor and defense counsel. I have handled thousands of felony criminal cases. I have supported drug courts and treatments for drug addicts. I recommend probation for many felons with the condition they receive drug treatment. I am on the UNITE board and am very proud of their voucher program where addicts can request money to pay for their drug rehabilitation. I have started my own program we call COPE to help defendants avoid felony convictions by using pre-trial diversion and an intensive training program . In other words I am not a throw everybody in jail prosecutor. However, as a prosecutor I know that the first step in criminal rehabilitation is to get people to follow the rules of society. If you don’t follow the rules there has to be consequences. This new system makes a mockery out that concept.

What about the victims of crime? If your house is broken into the punishment range is five to ten years in prison. If the person gets the maximum ten year sentence the Judge could put the person on probation at sentencing, that is no jail time or the judge could shock probate the person after they serve 30 days. If the person gets denied probation, shock probation and goes to prison on a ten year sentence for Burglary, Second Degree he or she is eligible for parole in two years, that is twenty percent of the sentence (Kentucky has now made that 15 percent for many offenders). If the defendant makes parole they will be watched for the next eight years by a parole officer. Under the old law if they violate the law or use drugs and are sent back to prison they will have to serve the rest of the ten year sentence. I use the term old law but it is still on the books, the new law says to just ignore that law and follow the new one. Under this new policy/law if the defendant gets paroled and four years later violates that parole the State is going to pretend that they were in prison for those four years and give them four more years jail credit. The result is the defendant served two years, sat at home for four and now has six years of jail credit. The defendant will also be given good time (that takes so many days a month off your sentence if you don’t break the rules in prison). With good time added the defendant has now served the ten year sentence. Thus, on the ten year sentence they would have served two years in prison. As punishment for violating parole they will be sent back to prison, have all their time calculated, and released without supervision. As a victim would you feel justice was done? How do I explain this to the victim? How do we explain to all the victims that agreed to a plea deal that the rules have changed? We are going to reward the defendant for being able to follow rules for four years, for the doing the minimum that is expected by society. Explain this to a victim. Ask them is this is justice? What if you were the victim?

If the lawmakers don’t want people in prison they should rewrite the criminal code. If doing methamphetamine, heroin and crack cocaine are technical violations don’t make possession of them a felony. Don’t make writing forged check for ten dollars a felony. Raise the limit on theft from $300to $1,000.00 before it becomes a felony. Don’t make laws that are felonies and then complain that too many people are violating the law. If five to ten years in prison is too much time for breaking into a house lower the punishment. Don’t tell the public you are tough on crime and then let criminals out the back door of the prison. Don’t reward criminals for doing the minimal behavior expected in society. Don’t blame prosecutors for enforcing the laws you passed. The Courier-Journal said, "Prosecutors should remember that mindlessly jacking up sentences and eliminating justice flexibility have overloaded our jails and prisons, overburdened government budgets and overshadowed some critically important civic goals". The Courier-Journal should be reminded that prosecutors only enforce the laws passed by legislators and signed by the Governor. We do not set penalty ranges, just enforce them. They also need to be reminded that public safety and the punishment of criminals is an important civic goal. It is time to have an honest debate about who we want in prison.

Don’t say we are saving money when we don’t know if we are. The State and the papers assume that this is a cost saving measure. Since May over sixteen hundred convicted felons have been released from prison or parole under this new law.That is 1600 people who have committed felony crimes that are no longer being watched or drug tested. What is going to be the cost to public for the crimes they are now going to commit? Has anyone figured that into their cost saving formula? Is the state doing anything to track how many commit new crimes and the cost of those crimes? This is a blind attempt at saving money which endangers the public, frustrates victims,rewards criminals for doing what they should be doing, undermines the faith of law enforcement and prosecutors and in the end will not save money. Worst yet, it avoids the real debate about who should be in prison.

        

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