Legislature(2007 - 2008)CAPITOL 120
02/04/2008 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HJR28 | |
| HB292 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| *+ | HB 292 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| += | HJR 28 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED |
HB 292 - AGGRAVATING FACTOR: HOMELESSNESS 2:18:10 PM CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 292, "An Act relating to an aggravating factor at sentencing for crimes directed at a victim because of the victim's homelessness." 2:18:46 PM REPRESENTATIVE ANDREA DOLL, Alaska State Legislature, speaking as one of the bill's joint prime sponsors, relayed that HB 292 would add "homelessness" to the list of aggravating factors outlined in AS 12.55.155(c)(22); as a result, a defendant who knowingly directs his/her criminal conduct at a victim because of the victim's homelessness would be subject to an aggravating factor at sentencing. Although HB 292 won't end all assaults against the homeless, she acknowledged, it will send a message that although homeless people are vulnerable, they are important as human beings and their lives have value. The bill is meant to address those who look at a homeless person and think that they will be able to perpetrate a crime against him/her and no one will care or notice; in essence the legislation says, "Yes, we do care, and, by the way, we notice, too." 2:20:43 PM SUSAN HARGIS, Staff to Representative Andrea Doll, Alaska State Legislature, added on behalf of Representative Doll, one of the bill's joint prime sponsors, that HB 292 will do two things. It will help protect [homeless] victims of violence, and will provide a method of accountability to those who perpetrate such crimes. Alaska has a significant homeless population. The Alaska Interagency Council on Homelessness established by Governor Murkowski found that more than 14,000 individuals experience homelessness each year in Alaska, that about 3,500 people per night are homeless, that about 1,600 of them constitute families with children, and that 4,000 Alaska households are on the waiting list for public housing. MS. HARGIS relayed that a lot of the homeless population is made up of youth, women, and veterans; furthermore, veterans account for 11 percent of the country's population, but account for 25 percent of the country's homeless population. Ms. Hargis said that as a veteran, she wants to see her fellow veterans and women taken care of, as well as youths. She noted that the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) conducted a study which illustrates that the violence HB 292 is meant to address really are hate crimes because the perpetrators are specifically targeting the homeless simply because of their homeless status. CHAIR RAMRAS asked whether the proposed aggravating factor would apply in situations in which one homeless person commits a crime against another homeless person. MS. HARGIS acknowledged that sometimes crimes against the homeless are perpetrated by other homeless people, but suggested that the bill is not designed to address those situations because the majority of violence against the homeless is perpetrated by those who are not homeless - certain people are specifically targeting those who are homeless. She added that about 25 percent of homeless people have had violence perpetrated against them, as compared to 1 percent of non- homeless people. 2:25:40 PM REPRESENTATIVE DAHLSTROM asked how "homeless" is defined. MS. HARGIS said that there are two definitions available - one used in the NCH's model legislation, and one used by the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) - but staff at Legislative Legal and Research Services had pointed out that a lot of common-use terms in the criminal code are not defined. However, she relayed, the sponsor would be amenable to including either of the aforementioned definitions in the bill, though the NCH's definition is shorter and simpler. CHAIR RAMRAS observed that homeless people aren't limited with regard to the physical characteristics they have. REPRESENTATIVE DAHLSTROM questioned how hard it would be to prosecute someone under the standard of "knowingly", and remarked that the term "homeless" seems very broad. MS. HARGIS acknowledged that including one of the aforementioned definitions might be helpful. Discussions with law enforcement, she relayed, have indicated that how easy it will be to prosecute someone for the proposed hate crime depends on a lot of factors. Sometimes homeless people won't report a crime because they believe they are not always seen in the best light. But in some of the incidents that have come to light, the perpetrators have been boasting about the fact that they've gone out and beaten up a homeless person, or have boasted that they are going to go out and beat up a homeless person; again, these people are purposely targeting the homeless, and it is these people whom the bill is meant to address. In response to a question, she said that although there might be other types of people that are experiencing hate crimes, the sponsor chose to focus on the issue of violence specifically directed at the homeless, because statistics illustrate that there has been a significant increase in such crimes nationwide. REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS asked whether under the bill a separate trial will be required as a result of the decision in the U.S. Supreme Court case, Blakely v. Washington, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (U.S., 2004). 2:30:30 PM ANNE CARPENETI, Assistant Attorney General, Legal Services Section, Criminal Division, Department of Law (DOL), said that the aggravating factor would have to be proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt unless the defendant agreed to the aggravating factor. REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS asked how many times the aggravating factor [outlined in existing AS 12.55.155(c)(22)] has been used. He surmised that it would be hard to prove that the crime was motivated by fact that the victim was homeless. MS. CARPENETI said that although the proposed aggravating factor would not be easy to prove, it could be proven just as any other case requiring a specific mental state is proven - through the acts and words of the perpetrator. Furthermore, there have been some egregious cases in which an aggravating factor has been proven when the perpetrators were specifically victimizing a particular racial group, for example. So although use of the aggravating factor is uncommon because it is difficult to prove, sometimes it is proven, and it is worthy of the effort to do so. She also pointed out that the bill is not proposing to establish a separate crime; rather, it is simply proposing an aggravating factor that could be used when sentencing someone for an existing felony crime. REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS said that an option would be to stiffen the penalty for certain crimes, and have that penalty apply regardless of whom the crime is directed at. He questioned why someone who rapes a homeless woman, for example, should be punished more severely than someone who rapes a woman who is not homeless. He also observed that vulnerable people become victims more often than those who aren't as vulnerable; therefore, since homeless people are more vulnerable than those who are not homeless, they are also more likely to become victims. Regardless that a crime is a crime of opportunity, the crime is still the same. 2:33:41 PM MS. HARGIS acknowledge that for the victim of a crime, the impact of the crime on him/her isn't different depending on whether he/she is homeless. However, the legislature has already chosen to say that there are particular groups that are victimized on an all-too-regular basis. She characterized HB 292 as addressing a public safety issue, and said it will both protect those [who are being victimized just because they are homeless] and establish a boundary for those perpetrating such crimes; the bill will send a message that such behavior is unacceptable. She offered her belief that the targeting of homeless people to perpetrate crimes upon has become a problem, but acknowledged that establishing such a boundary is a policy call for the legislature to make. REPRESENTATIVE DAHLSTROM characterized the intent of the bill as worthy, but offered her belief that some could argue that a crime perpetrated against a person in his/her home violates the person even more because the home is supposed to be a safe haven. Committing a crime against a person is wrong regardless of whether the victim is homeless, she remarked, adding that she doesn't know how a particular crime could be considered more wrong just because of a victim's homeless status. MS. CARPENETI, in response to a question, said that the DOL supports HB 292 because it believes that there is good social value in saying that it is unacceptable to target particular groups of people that may be less able to protect themselves and others. She again acknowledged that the aggravating factor outlined in AS 12.55.155(c)(22) is difficult to prove, and [isn't pursued] very often, usually in just the horrifying cases. CHAIR RAMRAS recalled that one such case occurred in Fairbanks. MS. CARPENETI, in response to a request, explained that Alaska law has established maximum terms of imprisonment for various levels of crimes, and within those maximum terms are presumptive sentencing ranges, and when an aggravating factor is proven beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury as being present, then the judge, when imposing the sentence, may exceed those ranges and impose a longer sentence - up to the maximum sentence - for a particular offense. In response to a question, she explained that although the question of whether an aggravating factor at sentencing should be applied is dealt with in a separate proceeding, the issue is heard by the same jury that determined the verdict. MS. CARPENETI, in response to questions, explained that in order for the proposed aggravating factor to apply, the prosecution would have to prove that the perpetrator knowingly directed his/her conduct at a homeless person simply because that person was homeless, and that it is not mandatory for the court to impose a higher sentence for an aggravating factor - the court may simply consider it when determining the sentence and then may chose to impose a sentence beyond the presumptive sentencing range. 2:40:00 PM GEORGE BRIGGS, Executive Director, Juneau Cooperative Christian Ministry, after relaying that his organization is currently doing business as the Glory Hole, characterized HB 292 as one of the most important legislative Acts affecting the homeless. He offered his understanding that the aggravating factor proposed by HB 292 won't apply in situations where homeless people are committing violence against other homeless people, and that it is instead meant to apply in situations where people who aren't homeless are targeting those who are homeless just for fun, just for sport, and committing violence against them. Homeless people, regardless of how they come to be homeless, are vulnerable, in some cases even more vulnerable than children [who aren't homeless]. He noted that 85 percent of those using services provided by the Glory Hole are mentally challenged. CHAIR RAMRAS pointed out, though, that existing AS 12.55.155(c)(22) already provides an aggravating factor for crimes directed at those with a mental disability, and thus those people are already covered. MR. BRIGGS noted, however, that the Glory Hole only provides services monthly to about 175 of the 850 homeless individuals in Juneau. He relayed that two Saturdays ago, a group of people poured gasoline on a homeless Native man and lit him on fire simply because he was homeless and a Native - he was targeted because he was homeless and a Native. CHAIR RAMRAS pointed out that existing AS 12.55.155(c)(22) would already apply in that situation as well because it provides an aggravating factor for crimes directed at a person because of his/her race. MR. BRIGGS argued that not all homeless people are going to be covered by existing AS 12.55.155(c)(22), adding that the attacks that have been occurring are always directed at someone who is homeless and because he/she is homeless. Between June and October of last year, six homeless people were beaten up because they were homeless, and three of those individuals filed police reports. When homeless people don't file a police report, it could be for any number of reasons, a couple of which may be that they fear they will not be treated fairly by law enforcement or that they see that when their attackers are arrested, they are simply released from jail after just a few of days. 2:45:29 PM MR. BRIGGS, in response to a question, opined that homeless people are more vulnerable and thus need something that will show them that they are part of the community. Homeless people understand that they need community protection when they are being beaten up for no other reason than that they are homeless, and so there should be something in Alaska law that says attacking the homeless simply because they are homeless warrants a stiffer penalty. He posited that adoption of HB 292 will help police and encourage them to arrest the perpetrators of such crimes if they know that such perpetrators could be prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law. On the issue of how easy it will be to prove the proposed aggravating factor, he surmised that since homeless people don't have any thing of value on their persons, then attacks on homeless people are probably motivated by the fact that they are homeless. REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS asked how much over the presumptive sentencing range adoption of HB 292 would allow a sentence to be. CHAIR RAMRAS offered his belief that it would allow for a substantial increase in sentencing. Acknowledging that homeless people face unique challenges, he relayed that one concern is that HB 292 would have law enforcement be more aggressive in protecting the rights of the homeless than the rights of those who are not homeless. On any given day, anyone could find himself/herself in a vulnerable situation susceptible to having some type of crime perpetrated against him/her, and law enforcement should be treating everyone the same with regard to trying to solve those crimes and arresting the perpetrators. MR. BRIGGS agreed, but offered his belief that currently law enforcement authorities aren't treating the homeless the same way they do those who are not homeless, and without the adoption of HB 292, which might provide them with the extra impetus to pursue those who are assaulting the homeless, they never will. CHAIR RAMRAS posited that whenever police see someone being hurt they stop that event regardless of whether the victim is homeless. The perceived lack of pursuit of those specifically targeting and perpetrating crimes against the homeless could instead be the result of decisions made at the district-attorney level. 2:53:05 PM DANIEL UNGIER, Affordable Housing Advocate, United Way of Southeast Alaska, after relaying that he chairs the Juneau Homeless Coalition and offering a bit of information about it, shared his belief that the distinction between an assault perpetrated against a homeless person and an assault perpetrated against someone else is not that the crime is worse, but that it has become a crime of a different nature that deserves to be recognized. People who would not normally be committing any other crime are now going out and assaulting homeless people specifically because they are homeless and thus easy targets. He noted that the sponsor statement has indicated that from 1999 to 2006, the numbers of violent crimes against the homeless has increased 170 percent. MR. UNGIER went on to say: There is a series [of] private videos on the Internet, called "Bum Fights" - and these are mostly targeted at teenagers - and essentially all they are is, somebody shouts out "Bum Fights" at the beginning of the video and people run out and attack a homeless person in the video. And this has become mainstream enough that this was referenced in a full-length, major-budget film ..., so it is hardly something that's on the fringe of society, and, in fact, in ... [another case] where a homeless person has been killed, the person who [was] being charged with that crime admitted that he was inspired by "Bum Fights." MR. UNGIER opined that such videos have the specific effect of degrading a homeless person to the point where he/she can be targeted just for sport: homeless people aren't really human beings, it's not a big deal, and it's fun to go after them. In response to comments and a question, he opined that the bill is not saying that a person who attacks someone who is not homeless should be given a lesser penalty; rather, the bill is saying that when someone attacks a homeless person for sport, a crime of a different nature is being committed. Furthermore - according to statistics outlined in the sponsor statement - a disproportionate number of homeless people are experiencing violent attacks. Again, adoption of HB 292 will not result in lesser sentences being applied to those perpetrating violence against those who are not homeless - the bill is merely attempting to address a different issue. REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL agreed that such crimes are of a different nature, but opined that judges have already been given enough flexibility with regard to sentencing ranges. The aggravating factor outlined in AS 12.55.155(c)(22) seems to make the question of why someone committed a crime more important than the question of what crime was actually committed. To attack someone just because he/she is homeless is egregious, but so is attacking anyone, and so if a lack of prosecution is the problem or if the existing sentencing ranges aren't being applied to those attacking the homelessness, then those issues should be discussed with the appropriate agencies, rather than simply resorting to adding another subgroup to the existing aggravating factor. 3:02:18 PM DIANE SLATER indicated that the key issue to be addressed is the "sport" of attacking the homeless. It's not that the homeless are any better than other victims of violent crime, it's that there are a significantly increasing number of homeless people being attacked. A hate crime of the sort HB 292 is meant to address, she offered, can be likened to the hate crime perpetrated against Matthew Shepard simply because he was homosexual. Noting that she is familiar with the cliental at the Glory Hole and that she has even stayed there, she pointed out that the homeless are often treated as outcasts, and that homelessness can occur to anyone, including someone like herself, because obtaining housing can be quite a feat, particularly under federal housing guidelines. According to the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC), one is homeless if one is either living in a car, in a tent, or at a shelter. Homeless people often don't have the tools to get the help they need, and HB 292, she opined, will give authorities the extra power to protect this group of people, and will act as a preventative measure. Homeless people are vulnerable and they need someone to advocate for them, and that's what HB 292 can help do, she concluded. 3:06:46 PM CHRIS ASHENBRENNER, Executive Director, Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA), Department of Public Safety (DPS), relayed that members' packets include some statistics she'd provided. She said she finds it ironic that once people, particularly women [and children], become homeless due to domestic violence (DV), they are then assaulted - both physically and sexually - at a higher rate [simply for being homeless]. She said she would hope that legislators would want to add extra protection for those members of society who are the weakest, the most vulnerable. Women and children who are homeless are very vulnerable and become easy prey for those looking for an opportunity to sexually assault someone. In response to comments, she pointed out that crimes of DV are usually [prosecuted as] misdemeanors, and that her concern centers on those who are preying specifically on homeless people in order to sexually assault them. REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES offered her belief that what HB 292 is proposing is consistent with other steps the legislature has taken to protect the most vulnerable members of society, including the establishment of some other aggravating factors. 3:13:21 PM STAN MARSTON, Juneau Homeless Coalition, said he would echo what other testifiers have said thus far. The point he wishes to make is that people are being targeted because they are homeless. He surmised that if one were to ask a homeless person who is attacked in the middle of the afternoon out of sight of the general public, why he/she was attacked, the person would say he/she was attacked only because he/she was homeless. These sorts of assaults don't often happen late at night, and although they are crimes of opportunity, the perpetrators are specifically targeting the homeless because they are less able to defend themselves. According to what a victim of such an assault told him, Mr. Marston indicated, the victim was targeted solely because he was homeless and the police didn't take that assault as seriously as the victim felt it should have been. People can become homeless for a variety of reasons, but they are now being targeted simply because they are homeless - people are specifically hunting the homeless. REPRESENTATIVE SAMUELS surmised that no victim of any crime ever feels that law enforcement is doing enough. 3:16:27 PM SUSAN BOMALASKI, Catholic Social Services (CSS), said the CSS supports Representative Doll in introducing HB 292. The CSS operates the Brother Francis Shelter, which annually serves over 3,000, and about twice a month shelter staff see victims of attacks so violent that they warrant emergency room treatment. Although victims of such crimes are reluctant to report the crimes, homelessness is seen as the aggravating factor by these victims. She went on to say: It is our job as a just society to protect the poor and vulnerable and give voice to their concerns; ... homeless individuals have no voice and we have to speak up for them. Being homeless puts people in a very vulnerable category. These individuals are usually struggling against many obstacles in their recovery from homelessness, including being viewed as a target for violent crime because they are homeless. It is no longer acceptable to see this crime as merely a hardship but in fact it does deserve a harsher punishment. Passage of ... [HB 292] will make these violent attacks on the homeless unacceptable. It's an important statement for a just society to make. 3:18:13 PM KRIS DUNCAN, Coordinator, Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC), Department of Revenue (DOR), relayed that as a homeless youth awaiting the start of the fishing season, she was living in a tent and was sexually assaulted at knifepoint. She said she knows that the reason she was raped was because she was homeless, because over time she learned that the perpetrator - a person stationed at a military base - had been bragging about targeting homeless women, knowing that his victims were homeless and as such were trying to stay out of the public eye. Homeless people know that they are viewed as not being worthy of justice or worthy of having any of the rights that normal citizens have. Property owners have far more credibility with law enforcement than do disadvantaged populations such as the homeless. She said that had she known that people perpetrating crimes specifically against the homeless might receive a severe penalty, she maybe would have trusted the system and reported her sexual assault. 3:20:54 PM STEVEN WASSON, Homeward Bound, Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc. (RurAL CAP), relayed that when he was homeless, he was attacked and stabbed numerous times, and although he reported the incident to the police, they didn't do anything, and the perpetrators were back out on the streets the next day. He ventured that a lot of homeless people don't want to speak up about their assaults because they fear they won't receive any protection and will simply get targeted again by their perpetrators. CHAIR RAMRAS, after ascertaining that no one else wished to testify, closed public testimony on HB 292. REPRESENTATIVE DOLL relayed that when she first took office, she'd been visited by many people living on the streets, most of whom were women, who spoke to her about their vulnerability, and she began to realize how difficult it must be to be constantly exposed, constantly vulnerable. More and more society is coming out with greater penalties for crimes perpetrated against the vulnerable members of society, but there is still a long ways to go. She spoke briefly about crimes that have been perpetrated against her in the past, and pointed out that homeless people can't barricade themselves in their homes for protection against predators. "Somehow we've got to be able to move forward and talk for these people, somehow we've got to do something that says that we will do what we can to protect them in whatever small fashion we're able to," she added. REPRESENTATIVE DAHLSTROM expressed concern that the proposed aggravating factor could result in unintended consequences for other citizens. CHAIR RAMRAS acknowledged that more crimes occur than there are adequate resources to properly deal with them. He then relayed that HB 292 would be held over.
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