In light of last year’s release
from prison of murderer Michael Woodmansee, it was clear that Rhode
Island’s system of awarding time off to prisoners for good
behavior was too generous to people who had committed very serious
crimes.
After learning last year that Woodmansee would be released after
serving just 28 years of a 50-year sentence, 40 to serve, for the
heinous murder of 5-year-old Jason Foreman in 1975 (fortunately, he
later agreed to remain in voluntary institutional confinement), I filed
legislation on behalf of the attorney general that would have amended
the “good time” law to prevent those convicted of crimes of
violence from qualifying for it. But the issue proved too complicated
to reach consensus on so quickly, and instead I filed another bill,
which passed, asking the state Criminal Justice Oversight Commission
(CJOC) to study the issue and recommend reforms to the General Assembly.
The commission’s report suggested that the General Assembly work
to balance the need to encourage prisoners to follow the rules and
participate in rehabilitative programs with the rights of the public to
be protected from dangerous criminals. A delicate balance, indeed.
Accordingly, I worked over the past year in conjunction with members of
the CJOC to draft a bill to ban those convicted of the most serious
offenses – murder, attempted murder, first-degree sexual assault,
kidnapping of a minor and first- or second-degree child molestation
– from earning time off their sentences unless they actively
participate in their own rehabilitation.
Under the current system, merely existing in prison without incident
earns a prisoner significant time off his or her sentence, as much as
10 days a month. That blanket policy was too generous and often
resulted in a miscarriage of justice. When victims and their families
are told the person who committed the crime against them will be locked
away for a long time, they should have some reasonable assurance that
they will not be let out as much as one-third earlier simply for not
committing any new offenses while in prison.
Under my legislation, which passed the General Assembly with broad
support, going forward the only way a serious offender (as described
above) could earn time off his or her sentence would be by actively
participating in rehabilitative programs, such as substance abuse or
educational programs that teach useful life or career skills. Such
programs deliver as much good for society as they do for inmates; by
offering offenders opportunities to acquire “soft” skills
they may otherwise lack, or career skills that will give them
employment options when they are released, such programs reduce the
probability they will turn again to crime. I firmly believe it is in
society’s best interest to reasonably encourage inmates who are
going to be released at some point to take advantage of those programs,
since they better enable offenders to lead productive lives once
released – and remember, the inmates this law will affect will
all be released back into our communities at the end of their
sentences.
What I believe to be reasonable is to entice prisoners to pursue
correctional programs that directly correspond to becoming a useful
citizen upon release, better prepared to engage with our world in a
productive manner. Their time spent in the custody of our Department of
Corrections can help do this. What is not reasonable is the status quo:
a system in which a prisoner serving time for a heinous crime can do
absolutely nothing to rehabilitate himself or herself, and still be
disproportionately rewarded for their “good behavior” with
a significant sentence reduction.
For the families whose lives have been torn apart by violent acts
perpetrated against their loved ones, I am grateful for the courage
they showed through this long and awful process. In particular, I want
to acknowledge the strength, perseverance and grace of the Foremans,
the Shermans and the Wilmots who relentlessly channeled their pain and
suffering into momentum for needed reform to a flawed system so inmates
will no longer be rewarded with early release for doing nothing at all.
It was their tireless efforts that rallied the support and kept the
pressure on the General Assembly to pass this bill. Though it will not
do a thing to change the sentences in their cases, they continued to
fight for future victims and families they may never know. I hope this
brief moment of victory will help transform their suffering into a
legacy of which they can all be proud.
(Rep. Teresa Tanzi represents District 34 in South Kingstown and
Narragansett. The first-term Democrat is the sponsor of the “good
time” bill, which passed the General Assembly May 30.)
|
LEGISLATIVE INFO
