In a 28-11 vote, the Alaska House has approved Senate Bill 91, a sweeping reform of Alaska\u2019s criminal justice system that ends the War on Drugs in Alaska and promises to make one of the most significant changes to Alaska\u2019s crime laws since statehood.<\/p>\n
The vote took place after four days of debate on amendments and the merits of the bill, which has already passed the Senate. The measure will now return to the Senate, which will be asked whether or not to concur with amendments made in the House.<\/p>\n
Senate Majority Leader John Coghill, R-North Pole and the principal author of the bill, sat in the House gallery as lawmakers voted. After the vote, House representatives came by to offer their congratulations.<\/p>\n
Coghill said he\u2019ll examine the amendments made in the House as the bill returns to the Senate. If the Senate approves of those changes and the bill is signed by Gov. Bill Walker, it will become effective.<\/p>\n
The bill is the product of several years of study by the Alaska Criminal Justice Commission, which in December recommended 21 changes to the state\u2019s justice system to reduce the growth of Alaska\u2019s prison population.<\/p>\n
In broad strokes, the 116-page SB 91 encourages alternatives to prison, such as electronic monitoring, probation and diversion programs. It also reduces the mandatory minimum sentences on many crimes, allowing more nonviolent offenders to be eligible for these alternatives.<\/p>\n
Most of the state\u2019s class C felonies \u2014 generally those not dealing with sexual assault or violence \u2014 will be punishable only by probation and a suspended jail sentence.<\/p>\n
Most instances of simple drugs possession will no longer be punishable with jail time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe War on Drugs … has failed,\u201d said Rep. Matt Claman, D-Anchorage and a former public defender.<\/p>\n
The state will put fewer people in prison ahead of trial and install programs designed to keep criminals from returning to jail after their sentence is finished.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Friday, Claman said he doesn’t see the bill as an end to the War on Drugs, but as a change in the approach to it. “We tried this war on drugs, and as a consequence we have far more people in jail,” he said by phone. “It\u2019s a recognition that that effort hasn\u2019t worked.”<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Rep. Dan Saddler, R-Eagle River, voted in favor of the bill and said it isn\u2019t about being soft on crime or being hard on crime.<\/p>\n \u201cThis bill is more a demonstration about whether we will be smart on crime,\u201d he said. \u201cJustice doesn\u2019t always mean the ultimate punishment for every crime.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking on the floor, Claman explained that two-thirds of Alaskans jailed by the state will ultimately return to prison for other offenses because their lives have been so disrupted by prison that they have no alternative to crime.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that when it comes to corrections, our state\u2019s current system isn\u2019t working,\u201d said Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage. \u201cIt\u2019s not helping them, and it\u2019s not helping the public because they\u2019re returning and they\u2019re committing crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, the system that we have is just completely insane,\u201d added Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole.<\/p>\n The House and Senate combined have held more than 45 hearings on the bill, in addition to the years of work and planning conducted by the criminal justice commission.<\/p>\n Despite that oversight, several members of the House said they voted against the bill because they\u2019re concerned that it may have unknown effects.<\/p>\n Rep. Craig Johnson, R-Anchorage, explained that the criminal justice commission was recommending changes that would reduce the state\u2019s prison population by about 21 percent.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure this is just as big a gamble as just letting every fifth person go,\u201d he said. \u201cThink long and hard about the gamble we are going to be making here.\u201d<\/p>\n The divisions in the House on Senate Bill 91 did not fall along traditional Republican\/Democratic or majority\/minority caucus lines. Conservative Republicans voted for it and against it. Progressive members of the Democratic-led minority followed the same pattern.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my opinion, this is the worst bill I\u2019ve ever seen as a member of the Legislature,\u201d said Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage and a former prosecutor.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the most dangerous piece of legislation I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d agreed Rep. Lora Reinbold, R-Eagle River.<\/p>\n Despite those and similar concerns, a majority of lawmakers followed the thoughts of Rep. David Guttenberg, D-Fairbanks, who stood on the floor and reminded them, \u201cIf this bill goes away, we go back to a system that we know is broken.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Cathy Mu\u00f1oz, R-Juneau, shared an example of what can happen under that \u201cbroken\u201d system.<\/p>\n When she attended high school in Juneau, one of her classmates was a man named Mark Canul, who later suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. In December, he was arrested on the streets of Anchorage.<\/p>\n While awaiting a court hearing, he was killed in prison, allegedly by a fellow inmate.<\/p>\n Under SB 91, Mu\u00f1oz said, \u201cI\u2019m 100 percent sure that he would not have been held in prison, and he would be alive today.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Contact reporter James Brooks at james.k.brooks@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Editor’s Note:<\/strong> This story has been edited with additional comments clarifying the intent of Rep. Matt Claman’s floor speech.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In a 28-11 vote, the Alaska House has approved Senate Bill 91, a sweeping reform of Alaska\u2019s criminal justice system that ends the War on Drugs in Alaska and promises to make one of the most significant changes to Alaska\u2019s crime laws since statehood. 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