Legislature(1999 - 2000)
02/17/1999 01:40 PM Senate JUD
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
February 17, 1999
1:40
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Rick Halford, Vice-Chairman
Senator Dave Donley
Senator Johnny Ellis
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Robin Taylor, Chairman
Senator John Torgerson
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 11
"An Act relating to good time credits for prisoners serving
sentences of imprisonment for certain murders, attempted murders,
or conspiracies to commit murder."
-HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION
SB 11 - No previous action to report.
WITNESS REGISTER
Ms. Margot Knuth
Assistant Attorney General
Department of Corrections
PO Box 110300
Juneau, AK 99811
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 11
Mr. Michael Stark
Assistant Attorney General
Department of Law
PO Box 110300
Juneau, AK 99811
POSITION STATEMENT: Opposed SB 11
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 99-10, SIDE A
Number 001
VICE-CHAIRMAN RICK HALFORD called the Judiciary Committee meeting
to order at 1:40 and announced SB 11 would be the first and only
order of business.
SB 11-PRISON TIME CREDITS FOR MURDERERS
SENATOR DAVE DONLEY, prime sponsor of SB 11, explained that SB 11
changes how "good time" credits are awarded to prisoners in Alaska.
Under SB 11, prisoners convicted of the crimes of first and second
degree murder would receive + of the good time credit they
currently receive.
SENATOR DONLEY stated that Alaska has generous good time
provisions; Congress has adopted a standard that mandates 85% of a
sentence must be served and has encouraged states to comply with
this. Alaska is in a small minority, according to SENATOR DONLEY;
in fact, three states mandate that 100% of a sentence must be
served.
Number 050
Under the good time provision in SB 11, Alaska would still allow
more than a 15% good time reduction; SENATOR DONLEY thinks this
would make justice in Alaska more comparable to that of other
states. Also, SB 11 would make the consequences of these most
serious crimes more meaningful and would send the message that,
"we're simply not going to tolerate murder in Alaska."
SENATOR DONLEY said this issue came to his attention while
attending a memorial for victims of murder in Alaska. He was
approached by families of murder victims who felt justice was not
done and murders were being allowed back on the streets too
quickly. SENATOR DONLEY concluded SB 11 is a moderate and fair step
toward justice in Alaska.
SENATOR HALFORD asked what other crimes fall into the category of
unclassified felonies. SENATOR DONLEY replied the Department of Law
could better answer that question.
SENATOR HALFORD explained he was concerned about a possible equal
protection challenge to SB 11. He wondered if the objective of the
bill would be met by including all unclassified felonies. SENATOR
DONLEY replied he had considered that, but did not think the
reduced good time provision in SB 11 was appropriate for nonviolent
unclassified felonies. He would like to limit the bill to focus on
first and second degree murder in order to make a statement about
those particular crimes.
Number 110
MS. MARGOT KNUTH, Assistant Attorney General for the Department of
Corrections, informed the committee that the crimes of first-degree
sexual abuse of a minor, first-degree sexual assault and first-
degree misconduct involving a controlled substance are also
unclassified felonies.
MS. KNUTH articulated the Department of Corrections' concerns about
SB 11. First, the department has submitted a zero fiscal note since
the bill will have no fiscal impact within five years. However, the
bill will eventually have a significant fiscal impact on the
department. If the bill had been enacted January 1, 1998, it would
have cost an additional $1.2 million to pay for the extra
incarceration time.
MS. KNUTH reported that Alaska still faces serious prison
overcrowding and, if SB 11 passes, longer periods of incarceration
will increase the costs of care. Also, longer sentences mean more
prisoners will have to be sent out to Arizona or more prison beds
must be created in Alaska.
MS. KNUTH pointed out the difficulty in imposing a non-uniform
system of good time credit. Having a different system for one
population is difficult for the department to administer. She said
if the intent of the bill is to increase the length of sentences
for first and second degree murder, the Legislature might better
deal with that concern directly. MS. KNUTH said she had not heard
complaints from the public that murder sentences are too short.
SENATOR HALFORD interjected, "I definitely have."
MS. KNUTH explained the results of a comparison the department ran
on the release age of prisoners incarcerated for first and second
degree murder. Currently, the earliest release age for people
convicted of first-degree murder is 88. Under SB 11, this would
become 104. On the other edge of the spectrum, a first-degree
murderer now scheduled to be released at age 56 would be released
at age 63 if SB 11 became law. Similarly, second-degree murderers
generally do not get out before age 50. MS. KNUTH said SB 11 raises
the issue of medical costs for prisoners, already an extremely
large component of the cost of care. At this age, the added cost of
incarceration will be more than simply the additional number of
days a person spends in prison.
Number 191
SENATOR HALFORD asked if a release provision exists that allows
prisoners who are no longer a threat to be released. MS. KNUTH
replied there is such a provision, but it is so limited that a
person, in some instances, has to be a quadriplegic to be let out.
MS. KNUTH suspected this provision should be addressed at some
point.
Number 204
SENATOR ELLIS asked MS. KNUTH about the people that SENATOR DONLEY
referred to, those out walking the streets after twelve to fourteen
years. MS. KNUTH replied, currently, the shortest sentence for
first-degree murder is 20 years, and this prisoner was granted
relief from the court. MS. KNUTH noted the average sentence for
murder one is 77.5 years. The average sentence for second degree
murder is 42 years. MS. KNUTH explained that this average was
calculated using a maximum 99 year sentence per prisoner, even in
cases where a single prisoner was awarded multiple 99 year
sentences. MS. KNUTH reported the minimum sentence for second-
degree murder is five years but she has never seen that sentence
handed down. SENATOR DONLEY remarked that there are quite a few
people convicted of murder in the second-degree who fall into the
category he named.
SENATOR HALFORD mentioned he figured out that if this bill adds
1311 years to prison sentences, at $50 per person, per day, the
cost would be $23 million.
Number 244
SENATOR DONLEY mentioned other states do not have uniform good time
standards. He provided committee members with a handout
illustrating the different standards used in different states. He
contended he did not believe the standard proposed in SB 11 would
be too difficult for the department to calculate. He said all that
would have to be done is, "figure what they'd normally get and
divide it by two. That's about as simple as you can get, Mr.
Chairman, and I really am confident that the folks at the
Department of Corrections can handle that."
Number 270
MR. MICHAEL STARK, Assistant Attorney General with the Department
of Law and counsel to the Department of Corrections, agreed that
the standard in SB 11 looks simple enough on the surface. However,
MR. STARK explained, he has dealt with many cases where the issue
has turned out to be anything but simple. The current good time
accounting procedures were adopted in 1986 at the request of the
administration, because of the problems resulting from having three
separate time accounting systems in place. The system in place when
a person is convicted of a crime is the system that follows them
throughout their sentence. In cases of multiple convictions, a
single person can fall under multiple time accounting systems. MR.
STARK informed the committee that expensive lawsuits have been
filed against the state due to early and late release dates
resulting from inaccurate, complex time accounting calculations.
MR. STARK expressed his preference for the Legislature to deal
directly with the length of sentences for first and second degree
murder. He said, "if the Legislature is interested in increasing
sentences . . . please deal with it directly at the front door,
rather than at the back door. . . ." He said this would reduce
mistakes in time accounting and make things easier for the
Department of Corrections.
Number 301
SENATOR DONLEY said he was puzzled by the fact that almost 40 other
states can deal with this if it is so difficult. He asked, if all
that had to be done is to divide by two, why would this be so
difficult. MR. STARK replied there are already three different time
accounting systems in place for murderers, and the additional
system proposed in SB 11 would make four. The chances of
computational errors increase with each additional time accounting
system, according to MR. STARK.
SENATOR DONLEY stated Congress has adopted a national standard of
85% so the public knows how much time a convict will actually
serve. He asked why this Administration thinks one-third is such a
good standard, if it misrepresents to the public how much time a
person will actually serve. MR. STARK replied the Legislature
recently passed a truth-in-sentencing law that requires the amount
of time a felon will serve to be announced in the courtroom. If a
person attends a sentencing hearing, or if this information is
reported, no one is misled.
MR. STARK stated that good time is an incentive for good behavior
and a safety valve for correctional personnel. SENATOR DONLEY
concluded that the whole point of this is so sentences will
correlate with time actually served. He concluded, "In Alaska,
we're making some progress, but we're still not quite there."
With nothing further to come before the committee, Vice-Chairman
Halford adjourned the Judiciary committee at 2:05 p.m.
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