Life sentence reform could be topic for state legislature – Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier

“People that spend 25 years in prison usually aren’t much of a threat to public safety when they come out, so you are really keeping them in for punishment rather than to protect public safety,” said Al Hays, a retired University of Northern Iowa professor and justice reform advocate, who was one of the guest speakers at the event.

Currently, the state imposes a mandatory life sentence without parole for the crimes of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, first-degree sexual abuse and some second-offense sex crimes, meaning convictions result in life behind bars, short of commutation by the governor.

Because of U.S. Supreme Court rulings, mandatory life without parole can’t be handed down for people who committed such crimes while they were juveniles — under age 18.

Hayes said an unnamed senator plans introduce a bill to raise this bar to age 21. He said the forthcoming bill would also add automatic reviews for life sentences after an inmate has served 25 years or more in prison for the offense.

Another facet of the bill would eliminate life without parole for accomplices to murder, leaving the harshest punishment for only those convicted of carrying out the act.

The forum focused on criminal justice; lawmakers in attendance included Sen. Eric Giddens, Sen. Bill Dotzler, Rep. Bob Kressig, Rep. Timi Brown Powers, Rep. Ras Smith, and Rep. Dave Williams.

Lawmakers also discussed proposals to restore voting rights for those convicted of felonies. Gov. Kim Reynolds said she would support such a change, but efforts to pass a constitutional amendment on the issue stalled in the Legislature last year.

Smith, a Democrat, called Republican Reynolds’ support of felon voting rights and other criminal justice reforms “lip service.”

“She said a lot of things I don’t see her putting a lot of weight behind. Her task force was good, has a lot of good recommendations, but I think she understands the makeup of the Iowa Legislature right now as well. It’s easy to say these things when she knows the Senate isn’t receptive to hearing any of it,” Smith said.

Hayes also talked about the need to address the backlogged demand for mental health and drug treatment services and job training in prison. He said the average prison stay is currently about 20 months.

“Sometimes, they are ready to be discharged before they even have a chance to access a lot of these services within, when they are actually in prison,” Hayes said. He said missing those opportunities can lead to difficulties when they get out.

Smith said lawmakers are also working on a racial profiling bill to collect data on traffic stops.

“It’s good for the community and good for law enforcement because it gives us an idea of what’s happening where, what are the peak times, what are the peak areas,” Smith said.