Four police officers are gunned down in cold blood, execution style, by a man out on bail for the rape of a child. But before that Maurice Clemmons was in and out of the slammer for a variety of crimes. He was always shown mercy by the powers that be but was never –never–worthy of it. (see post below).
I asked Steve Doell of Oregon’s Crime Victim’s United to offer his assessment of what went wrong with Clemmons.
“On behalf of Crime Victim’s United and myself personally, I want to offer condolences to the families and friends of the officers who were murdered on Sunday.
Maurice Clemmons was a man whose fate should have rested with the Arkansas Parole Board, but instead then-Governor Mike Huckabee commuted his sentence. This is the role of the legislature and parole board. Sure, Governor Huckabee had the right under law to commute the sentence of this individual, but he was clearly wrong.
In Oregon, Legislators in the last session changed the voter passed Measure 57 sentences on property criminals. They passed HB 3508 to loosen sentencing strictures for judges. Legislators promised the bill would allow for a 50% increase in “good time” only for those criminals who were guilty of drug and property crimes. But you decide if that’s true.
Recently a Umatilla man who murdered, then shot, and then dismembered his wife’s body went back to court to get ‘good time’ on his sentence for dismemberment because he claims it falls under HB 3508. The illegal alien who mowed over a woman jogging in the gorge went back to get his sentence reduced under HB 3508. Nothing like what happened in Washington has happened in Oregon. Yet.”