Oregon Ballot Measure 57 (2008)

Measure 57
Increases Sentences For Drug Trafficking, Theft Against Elderly And Specified Repeat Property And Identity Theft Crimes; Requires Addiction Treatment For Certain Offenders
Results
Yes or no Votes Percentage
Yes 1,058,955 61.39%
No 665,942 38.61%
Total votes 1,724,897 100.00%
Voter turnout 85.7%
Results by county
  Yes
  No
Source: Oregon Secretary of State [1]

Oregon Ballot Measure 57 (2008) or Senate Bill (SB) 1087 was a legislatively referred state statute that increased term of imprisonment for persons convicted of specified drug and property crimes under certain circumstances. The measure enacted law which prohibits courts from imposing less than a presumptive sentence for persons convicted of specified drug and property crimes under certain circumstances, and requires the Department of Corrections to provide treatment to certain offenders and to administer grant program to provide supplemental funding to local governments for certain purposes.[2]

Official Ballot Title

Increases Sentences For Drug Trafficking, Theft Against Elderly And Specified Repeat Property And Identity Theft Crimes; Requires Addiction Treatment For Certain Offenders[3]

Background

Competing ballot measures

A similar measure, (Oregon Ballot Measure 61 (2008), proposed by Kevin Mannix, was also approved for the November election.

The main differences were:

1) Measure 61 has mandatory prison time for some first time felony offenders, while SB 1087 only does so for repeat offenders

2) SB 1087 significantly increases funding for drug treatment programs, while Measure 61 provides none.

3) Measure 61 will cost $250–$400 million per two year budget cycle, while SB 1087 would only cost $140 million.[4]

If both measures pass, the one with the most votes will go into effect.[5]

An increase in prison inmates since 1994

In 1994, Measure 11, an earlier initiative proposed by Kevin Mannix, was passed, which set mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes. It is responsible for 28% of today's prison population. Oregon uses the highest percentage of its state budget to lock up criminals and supervise parole of any state. Oregon has seen a growth in prison inmates from about 4,000 to more than 13,500.

If SB 1087 or the initiative proposed by Mannix, is passed, Oregon's prison population and percentage of state budget will become more pronounced. However, Oregon has seen an even greater drop in violent crime than the rest of the country on average since Measure 11 passed.[6]

Support

Supporters include:

Organizations

Elected officials

Justices

Attorneys General

Legislators

Sheriffs

District Attorneys

County Commissioners

City Councilors

Others

A full list of supporters is available at the campaign website .

Opposition

Kevin Mannix continues to promote his Measure 61. “Either way, we make progress,” Mannix says. “I win some if [Measure] 57 passes, and the people win more if 61 passes.”[7]

Loren Parks[8] "With the financial help of Nevada medical-device millionaire Loren Parks, Mannix easily gathered 149,000 signatures to place Measure 61 on the ballot."[7]

Oregon Anti-Crime Alliance: The Oregon Anti-Crime Alliance is a new organization that brings together citizens with a mission of reducing crime in Oregon through reforms affecting prevention, investigation, prosecution, the courts, indigent defense, accountability, transition programs out of prison, prison work, treatment and rehabilitation.

Some Republicans attacked the measure for being "soft-on-crime". Kevin Mannix continues to promote his "tough-on-crime" initiative while pointing out the weaknesses of the competing measure. "We shouldn't be patsies and let drug dealers and identity thieves and burglars get a free pass on their first convictions, which is what they get on the legislative referral", he said. [5]

For a citizen-initiated measure in Oregon, the ballot title is determined by the state's Attorney General. In the case of this measure, the legislature chose to supplant this process by inserting its own title.,[9][10]

As of March, 2009, the number of counties that have sentenced pursuant Measure 57 sentences remains small. The reason for this seems to be that defendants are willing to plea to a lesser sentence in order to avoid the longer sentences mandated by the Measure.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Official Results – November 4, 2008 General Election
  2. ↑ Official Summary of SB 1087
  3. ↑ Detailed information on SB1087 from the Secretary of State
  4. ↑ LaneBus.org: "Measure 40, SB 1087, Education and the Economy", Lane County Bus Project, February 14, 2008
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 OregonLive.com "Mannix's tough-on-crime measure will be on Oregon ballot", The Oregonian, April 11, 2008
  6. ↑ Prisons Lock in a Chunk of Budget from The Oregonian
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Jaquiss, Nigel (1 October 2008). "Jail Junkies" (EDITORIAL). News. Willamette Week. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  8. ↑ "Loren Parks, The Missing Millionaire" (WEBSITE). Missing Millionaire. 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2008.
  9. ↑ Developing hard, Democrats avoiding review process again! Ted Piccolo, February 16, 2008
  10. ↑ Salem Democrats to give Republicans the perfect issue

External links