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| 'Courthouse crasher' seeks early release |
| By statesmanjournal.com |
| Published: 01/13/2010 |
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A Keizer man sent to prison in 2006 for crashing his pickup into the Marion County Courthouse and setting fires inside will receive early-release consideration Thursday under a controversial law approved by the 2009 Legislature. The crimes of Christopher Lee Millis cost taxpayers $15 million to repair the courthouse. Rep. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, said the notion of shaving time off his prison sentence defies common sense and demonstrates why legislators need to revamp the new law. "The people who supported this (law) were sold a bill of goods, and I hope it gets fixed in the February session," Thatcher said Tuesday. Millis went on a rampage Nov. 12, 2005, that included shooting at a Keizer police officer and smashing his pickup through the front glass doors of the courthouse at 100 High St. NE in Salem. He became known as "the courthouse crasher." The building was extensively damaged by fires and gunfire sprayed during a standoff between Millis and police. The county's court system operated in makeshift fashion while repairs took place, with courthouse workers fanning out across Salem to conduct business. Millis, 42, received a 16-year prison sentence in August 2006 after pleading guilty on all 13 counts he faced, including attempted murder and arson. Millis comes up for early-release consideration Thursday at a court hearing in Lane County. Millis was prosecuted in Lane County rather than Marion County because of extensive local publicity about his crimes and because his actions displaced the court system here. Millis is one of nearly 5,000 inmates across Oregon deemed eligible for30 percent reductions in prison sentences, instead of the standard 20 percent time off for good behavior. The money-saving legislation was green lighted by lawmakers during the waning days of a 2009 session dominated by the state's economic and budget crises. Last summer, lawmakers decided to cut prison costs by $6 million during the 2009-11 budget period by making thousands of prisoners eligible for an additional 10 percent reduction in their sentences. Since then, prison managers have notified county courts and district attorneys across the state that 4,799 inmates in Oregon's 14,000-inmate prison system met eligibility criteria for enhanced sentence reductions. As of Tuesday, judges had granted hastened prison departures for 3,396 offenders and denied them for 722 inmates, according to Corrections Department statistics. Partial sentence reductions have been granted for 40 more inmates. The new law has sparked criticism and outrage from prosecutors and crime victims advocates. They say it has clogged court dockets, turned loose violent criminals and rekindled anguish for crime victims. Critics fault lawmakers for failing to exclude serious crimes from the list that disqualifies inmates for reduced sentences. Crimes left off the list include assaulting a public safety officer, unlawful use of a weapon, escape from a corrections facility and certain kinds of robbery or arson. State Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, a sponsor of the legislation, has said he expects the Legislature to add crimes to the list that were "unintentionally omitted." Critics call for the law to be overhauled or repealed. The issue will come before lawmakers when they convene in February. Prosecutors and other critics say the new law has opened prison doors early for violent criminals. They also have complained that it precludes prosecutors from bringing up inmates' bad behavior in prison at sentence-reduction hearings. "They call it earned time, but the judges aren't even allowed to consider whether these inmates deserve time off for good behavior," Thatcher said. "It's kind of a misnomer, if you ask me." Violent offenders convicted under Measure 11, a mandatory sentencing law approved by voters in 1994, aren't eligible for early releases. But inmates such as Millis, who are serving time for multiple offenses committed during a violent crime, qualify for early-release consideration because they also have lesser offenses on their rap sheets. Millis doesn't qualify for a sentence reduction on the most serious charge he was convicted of — attempted murder. His court review for early-release consideration centers on six counts of arson, three counts of unlawful use of a weapon and one burglary count. Read More. |
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