Legislature: Crime victims should have say in offenders’ work release placements

April 2, 2009

OLYMPIA – The Senate today unanimously approved a bill that would require the state Department of Corrections to consider the input of crime victims in the process of determining an offender’s work release placement. The Senate’s action follows the bill’s unanimous approval by the House in February, and now the legislation moves to the governor’s desk to await final action.
 
Rep. Christine Rolfes (D-Bainbridge Island) sponsored House Bill 1076, arguing the legislation will ensure crime victims are treated fairly and with due consideration. She worked closely with Sen. Phil Rockefeller (D-Kitsap County), who sponsored the Senate companion bill, SB 5438. Rolfes credits Rockefeller for facilitating the bill’s success among his colleagues in the Senate.
 
“This bill honors crime victims and their families,” Rolfes said. “The ability for citizens to be heard by their government should be a given. It is an issue of fundamental fairness.”
 
For Kitsap County resident Nora Sizemore, the passage of HB 1076 has personal significance. Her teenage son Kyle was killed in a 2005 automobile accident. The offender was later offered work release in the community, which resulted in an uncomfortable situation for Sizemore and her family. She had no way to provide feedback to DOC about the work release placement.
 
“For us, having the person who killed our son serving his prison sentence a mile from our home was a nightmare. It was like nobody cared at all about our condition or how we felt as we dealt with our tragedy,” Sizemore said. “With this bill, families will have a good amount of time to prepare and say what they want to say. And in some cases, this could be a matter of being kept safe and protected.”
 
Rolfes notes that HB 1076 would not have happened without the passion and involvement of Sizemore. Rolfes met with Sizemore and as she learned about Sizemore’s story, she began to think of a way to adjust the law to address this issue and help people presently and in the future.
 
As the law currently exists, DOC must inform the victim of an offender’s crime about the work release placement, but there is no provision for the victim to provide input.
 
In Washington state, DOC is able to convert up to six months of an offender’s sentence to work release—a partial confinement situation in which offenders can enter the community for purposes of employment. If a crime victim has requested notification and the crime was a sex offense, violent offense or felony harassment, DOC is currently required to notify the victim (or next of kin in a homicide case) about the offender’s work release at least 30 days prior to placement.
 
Under Rolfes’ legislation, DOC would notify the victim on how to provide input about the offender’s work release placement, and DOC would be required to consider it. DOC could change its decision about the work release based on the victim’s input.
 
Rolfes introduced the legislation in the 2008 legislative session, but it stalled in the Senate, so she reintroduced it this year. More information about HB 1076 is available here.