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| Easing felony law faces challenges |
| By The News and Tribune |
| Published: 11/13/2008 |
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KENTUCKY - Odds that lawmakers will take a chance on being cast as soft on crime and revise the state’s persistent felony law don’t look favorable. But some lawmakers understand the connection between the “three strikes” law and Kentucky’s exploding prison population and inmate costs. Two groups are reviewing Kentucky’s penal code – the Criminal Justice Council and the Interim Joint Judiciary Committee, both spurred by rising costs for corrections. One way to do that is to sentence fewer inmates to longer sentences on PFO violations. Dr. Robert Lawson, a University of Kentucky Law School professor, wrote the original PFO law in the mid-1970s and it required offenders to have spent time in prison before its application. But over the years lawmakers strengthened the penalties and eased the application of PFO laws. Now it is routine for offenders who’ve never spent time in jail to be charged as persistent felons. Jesse Crenshaw, D-Lexington, a defense attorney who chairs the Budget Review Committee for Judiciary, said Thursday he’s not sure how much support changing the PFO laws might get in the legislature. Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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