Montana Commission on Sentencing

Montana Senate Bill 60 Violates the 6th Amendment of the Bill of Rights

Montana Senate Bill 60 was enacted by the request of the Commission on Sentencing. The law is designed to create a 30 day limit for the completion of presentence investigations of felony offenders and to create a Presentence Investigation team.

I have previously posted that I believed the people that comprised the Commission on Sentencing had a sincere desire to help offenders and reduce recidivism. The passage of Senate Bill 60 disposes of my belief that the members were acting in good faith for offenders. Senate Bill 60 violates the 6th Amendment of the Bill of Rights. Let's take a look at what this bill really does and the horrendous result of the Commission's actions.

Presentence investigations (PSI) involve interviewing the defendant, reviewing the defendant's criminal history, interviewing victims, making program and treatment referrals and writing the PSI report. The PSI report is then given to the judge to determine the sentence given the defendant. Senate Bill 60 allows probation and parole officers to prepare PSI reports PRIOR to a guilty plea or finding so the report will be completed within 30 days. Senate Bill 60 finds the defendant guilty until proven innocent.

Justice Reinvestment in Montana, January 2017
Report to the Montana
Commission on Sentencing
Further, probation and parole officers will be allowed
to prepare PSI reports in felony cases prior to a guilty
plea, ...or finding.

The 6th Amendment of the Bill of Rights establishes the "innocent until proven guilty" mantra that is present in the United States legal system. Montana Title 46., Criminal Procedure Chapter 16, Part 2, MCA 46-16-204, guarantees the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The presumption of innocence is a legal right of the accused and it is an international human right under the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Senate Bill 60 takes away this fundamental right of innocence by allowing probation and parole officers to assume the defendant is guilty, before the finding of fact, and conducting a Presentence Investigation to give to the judge for sentencing. The Presentence Investigation is designed to influence the judge in determining the sentence of the defendant before the defendant is found guilty. The defendant is now guilty until proven innocent.

The Montana Budget Subcommittee, February 13, 2017, approved a decision package to fund 6 full time state employees and $720,000.00 to create a Presentence Investigation team, as proposed by Senate Bill 60. The State of Montana approved nearly three quarter of a million dollars to violate your human rights granted under the 6th Amendment of the Bill of Rights, Montana Code Annotated 46-16-204 and the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In Montana, under Senate Bill 60, all Montanans are guilty until proven innocent. The members of the Commission on Sentencing have violated the basic tenants of human rights and under no condition should we believe they are acting in good faith. Justice Reinvestment in Montana? I don't think so.

This is justice at its' worst. Thank you Commission on Sentencing. You have just violated the basic human rights of all Montanans. Senate Bill 60 has demonstrated the ignorance of legislators and corruption of the Montana justice system.

Defense Attorney's, take note - your client was found guilty before pleading or a trial. This sounds like a good case before the Montana Supreme Court. Senate Bill 60 is a violation of your client's rights.

Montana Senate Bill 65 – Housing Options With No Options, to Reduce Recidivism

Montana Senate Bill 65 was enacted by the request of the Commission on Sentencing. The heart of the law is to revise laws regarding housing options for offenders and to create a supportive housing grant program to reduce recidivism. Senate Bill 65 is a disappointing failure.

Once again, I think the people that comprised the Commission on Sentencing had a sincere desire to help offenders and to reduce recidivism by providing housing after leaving correctional facilities. Unfortunately, the first thing that jumps out at me is this bill authorizes probation and parole officers to carry firearms. Probation and parole officers should be allowed to carry firearms but I don't see where this enactment helps with housing. Under the same section that allows officers to carry firearms, they are to administer the rental voucher program. I am very confused how the carrying of firearms has anything to do with the rental voucher program. But I digress, let's look at the rest of the bill.

Senate Bill 65 encourages the Department to coordinate with local governments and local agencies to identify all available housing options. Most communities and agencies are aware there is not enough affordable housing in their communities for citizens in need, let alone for those just being released from prison. How does this bill increase housing options if no options exist? This bill fails to create housing options. There are no housing options.

Senate Bill 65 does not allocate any funds for housing. The bill is enacted on some obscure hope that federal and state grant money will be available to pay for this act. Section 2 states "within the limits of available funds...develop and administer a supportive grant program to improve access to housing..." "Grants available...consist of state appropriations and federal funds..." The State of Montana is in a budget crisis. There is no money in the state coffers to provide housing. The Federal Government is in a budget crisis. What state and federal grants are we looking at? In the unlikely event grant funds are given, the bill allows the grant money to be used to hire case managers, hire housing specialists, hire employees for housing placement services and to reimburse landlords for tenant-related damages. After hiring all these new state employees there won't be any money left for housing vouchers, just new state employees.

This housing bill authorizes the "siting, establishment and expansion of prerelease centers". Prerelease centers are not housing options. Build it and they will come. Prerelease centers are only options for recidivism. If we build more centers we need more recidivism. This kind of blows the whole Commission on Sentencing out of the water. Reduce recidivism by increasing the need for recidivism.

This next one is good. Senate Bill 65 requires the Department to "maintain data on the number of individuals who are discharged from the adult correction services into a homeless shelter or a homeless situation." Wait..I thought the purpose of this bill was to provide housing not homelessness. I guess providing housing grants went out the window to pay for all the new state employees hired to administer the housing grants. Now we have to hire someone to track the data on those discharged to a homeless shelter. This is very responsible use of grant money. No housing just new state employees.

Senate Bill 65 is based on receiving obscure, unknown federal and state grants from government agencies that have no money. The grant money then will be used to hire new state employees to administer the grant money except all the grant money will be used to hire new employees to administer the grant money and there won't be any left to provide housing. Then to reduce recidivism, Senate Bill 65 authorizes the creation of new prerelease centers that will only increase recidivism because we have to fill the new centers with offenders. Then because all the grant money is used for new state employees, Senate Bill 65 requires the tracking of those released to homeless situations.

Senate Bill 65 only creates new jobs for state employees and no housing options for offenders leaving correctional facilities.

Montana Senate Bill 63, The Constitution and The Gestapo

Montana Senate Bill 63 was introduced and passed by the 2017 Legislature by request of The Commission on Sentencing. Unfortunately, this bill will have a chilling effect on the constitutional rights of all defendants. If only the creators of this bill knew what they were actually doing, the creators of this bill would be appalled. The creators of this bill have no idea the underlying use of Senate Bill 63.

Constitution of United States of America 1789 (rev. 1992)

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

CONSTITUTION
of the
STATE OF MONTANA
PREAMBLE
We the people of Montana grateful to God for the quiet beauty of our state, the grandeur of our mountains, the vastness of our rolling plains, and desiring to improve the quality of life, equality of opportunity and to secure the blessings of liberty for this and future generations do ordain and establish this constitution.

ARTICLE II
DECLARATION OF RIGHT

Sectn 24. RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED. In all criminal prosecutions the accused
shall have the right to appear and defend in person and by counsel; to demand the nature and cause of the accusation; to meet the witnesses against him face to face; to have process to compel the attendance of witnesses in his behalf, and a speedy public trial by an impartial jury of the county or district in which the offense is alleged to have been committed, subject to the right of the state to have a change of venue for any of the causes for which the defendant may obtain the same.

The heart of Senate Bill 63 is an act allowing the early termination of remaining portions of deferred or suspended sentences. In the case of deferred sentencing, the offender can be released from supervision after serving two years or one-half of the sentence, whichever is less. In the case of a suspended sentence, the offender can be released from supervision after serving 3 years or two-thirds of the time suspended, whichever is less. Conditional release can be granted as soon as the probationer has completed 9 months. This sounds really good!! The caveat to this bill is the defendant has to pay all restitution and court-ordered financial obligations in full. This caveat will be used as a tool to induce defendants to plead guilty or accept a plea bargain rather than exercise their constitutional rights to a trial, wherein they could be found not guilty. Let me explain how this bill is nothing but a tool for prosecutors.

A defendant that exercises their constitutional right to a trial will, through the arbitrary decision of the judge or request of the county attorney, be charged for the cost of the trial. These costs include the time of the county attorney, witness fees and expenses, investigator costs, jury costs, the cost of the judges' time and defense attorney charges and expenses. This can amount to thousands and thousands of dollars. The prosecutor comes in like the Gestapo and, with steel-toed boots, uses this Senate Bill to induce the defendant, with provisions of an early release from supervision, to plead guilty and not incur the expenses of paying for a trial. If they request a trial the defendant can never get early release from supervision because they can't pay all court-ordered financial obligations. The cost of exercising constitutional rights can amount to a lifetime sentence because the county attorney then places liens on all property of the defendant to pay for the trial. You choose, early release because there are no court-ordered financial obligations or a lifetime of paying court-ordered financial obligations and no chance of early release. This is the choice offered by Senate Bill 63.

Senate Bill 63 has only provided a tool to prosecutors. Defendants can exercise their constitutional right to a trial and get a lifetime sentence paying for the cost of the trial. Or, they can figuratively be kicked with steel-toed Gestapo boots into accepting a plea for early release of supervision as provided by Senate Bill 63 because there are no court-ordered financial obligations.

The creators of this bill have no idea of the underlying use of this bill. The underlying use will be used to induce defendants to plead guilty, waive their constitutional rights and, in many cases, innocent people will be convicted. All with the promise of early release and no court-ordered financial obligations.

Senate Bill 63 ushers in the Gestapo and disposes of this preamble:
CONSTITUTION
of the
STATE OF MONTANA
PREAMBLE
We the people of Montana grateful to God for the quiet beauty of our state, the grandeur of our mountains, the vastness of our rolling plains, and desiring to improve the quality of life, equality of opportunity and to secure the blessings of liberty for this and future generations do ordain and establish this constitution.

Montana Senate Bill 64 & Montana Dept of Corrections – Unicorns Included

Senate Bill 64 is an act, requested by the Commission on Sentencing, revising the Board of Pardons and Parole and revising Probation and Parole to reduce recidivism.

I believe that most of the members on the Commission on Sentencing are very sincere in their wish to create a better outcome for the people entrapped in an antiquated correctional system.  Unfortunately, these very sincere people do not know the real obstacle in the path the majority of parolees take when released on parole.

Parolees have spent many years living in a harsh, hard, violent environment.  They have spent years in a hyper-vigilant state.  Many of these prisoners had at least one mental health issue before being incarcerated and it is fair to say all those incarcerated experience some mental health issue due to the conditions they have endured.

From January through June, 2017, there was 379 paroles granted, excluding those paroled to a federal retainer.  55% percent of the 379 were paroled to a pre-release center before going to probation and parole.  The stay at a pre-release center is usually 6-8 months.

If you read my last post you will know the qualifications to supervise parolees at a pre-release center is a high school diploma or GED.  Parolees, straight from prison, with mental health issues and in hyper-vigilant states are being supervised by someone with a high school diploma.  This GED or high school diploma does not, in anyway, prepare a person to help a parolee make a successful transition.

Montana Department of Corrections

HOW MONTANA’S PROBATION AND PAROLE SYSTEM WORKS

About 56 percent of men and 46 percent of women return to a corrections program within the first year.

The first year is a critical time for a parolee for successful reentry. 55% of parolees, the first year, are under the supervision of someone totally unprepared to help a hyper-vigilant person, with mental health issues, that has lived and survived a harsh, violent environment. Then the Department of Corrections gives statistics that 56% of men and 46% of women return to a corrections facility within one year after requiring them to spend the greater portion of that first year under the supervision of someone totally unprepared to supervise them. This private contract facility is not even required to report to the Montana Department of Corrections the classes, counseling or medication given the parolee when the parolee transitions from pre-release to probation and parole. 55% of parolees are sent to pre-release and 56% of parolees return to prison within one year.

Senate Bill 64 requires a 5 member board for the Board of Pardons and Parole. With an annual salary of about $90,000.00 per board member, the State of Montana will spend almost a half a million dollars annually to professionalize the board. Then this professional board sends the majority of parolees to a pre-release center that almost guarantees their failure for reentry.

If you believe this bill will reduce recidivism, then you are waiting for a unicorn to bring you a rainbow ice cream cone. You cannot expect a successful reentry when a mentally ill parolee is supervised by someone with a high school diploma or GED. The very sincere people sitting on the board of the Commission on Sentencing cannot be aware of the true obstacle confronting the parolee — Pre-Release.

A Reader’s Digest version of a better plan: If we parole 800 people a year and 55% (440 people) go to Pre-Release at $57.00 per day, we are spending $25,000 a day for the equivalence of high school supervision. At $25,000.00 a day for 210 days (7 months per person) we are spending $5,250,000.00 per year for the equivalence of high school supervision. Take the half a million dollars for the new Board of Pardons and Parole that send the parolees to the equivalence of high school supervision, we would have $5,750,000.00 to divide between 800 parolees. Each parolee would get $7,200.00 for housing, education, job training and medication for a successful reentry. They could be set up with Medicaid, SNAP, and appropriate and required social services for a successful reentry rather then leaving a pre-release with no funds, training, education, social services or even a place to live.

Rather than spend tax dollars on exorbitant salaries for CEO’s of Pre-Release Centers, $250,000.00 to $330,000.00 per year salaries, and salaries for supervisor’s with a high school education, spend the money directly on the parolee and provide them the necessary tools for a successful reentry. The funds could be administered by the reentry program within the Department of Corrections.

Let’s stop waiting for the unicorns and actually spend the money directly on the parolee.