Final forum targets death penalty, sentencing laws
Speakers at the final public comment session for the Access to Justice Commission's Committee on Fairness in the Criminal Justice System said reforming the system starts with being smarter, but not tougher, about crime in Delaware.
This means ending the state's bail practices, scaling back mandatory minimum sentences and the three strikes law, and repealing the death penalty, according to some who offered opinions Wednesday night at William Henry Middle School in Dover.
"We want racial justice in our communities; we want racial justice in our criminal justice system," said Cami Seward, of the Delaware Coalition to Dismantle the New Jim Crow. "We want to see the harm to our communities repaired, especially for those who are under-served, under-educated and over-policed."
Seward said restorative justice starts with repealing the death penalty. Repeal legislation passed the Senate, but was blocked by the House Judiciary Committee in a 6-5 vote in May. Efforts to move the legislation through the House are expected to continue next year.
Molly Keogh, another advocate for repeal, agreed, saying that as a therapist who previously worked in the Department of Correction, she saw the problems with the practice.
"In Delaware, black defendants who kill white victims are more than three times as likely to be sentenced to death as white defendants who kill white victims," she said. "This level of disparity compromises the integrity of the criminal justice system and sends the message that some lives are more valuable than others."
Wednesday's hearing was the last of six hearings where the public and experts from around the nation have been able to share their ideas for reducing racial disparities in the criminal justice system, while improving public safety and fairness.
The commission, pulled together by Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo E. Strine Jr., will issue proposals based on the testimony and their own findings next year.
Over 30 people attended the final hearing in Dover and offered suggestions for the commission ranging from more mental health treatment for inmates to addressing sentences that can be longer for non-violent drug offenses than violent offenses.
Some spoke briefly about the acquittal Tuesday of the white Dover police officer who was captured on dashboard camera video kicking a black suspect in the head in 2013.
La Mar Gunn, president of the Central Delaware Branch of the NAACP, said that while sitting in the trial he thought about if the suspect had been his own son.
"Will we continue to make this a black and white issue, or will we make this a human issue?" Gunn said. "It is not fair that we have to raise our children – I mean little black children – with their upbringing being to teach them how to deal with police."
Also Wednesday, Seward called for changes to the three-strikes law, which forces judges to sentence some offenders to life sentences for three-time violent felons no matter what their third felony was.
"We can improve outcomes in the prison system by reducing the number of people incarcerated," she said.
Attorney General Matt Denn pledged his support in October to efforts to scale back the law and wants to see legislation introduced to eliminate automatic life sentences for three violent felonies, and instead, proposes the mandatory sentence for a third violent felony be the maximum sentence for that particular felony.
Much of the conversation at the public hearings has also focused on eliminating bail in Delaware. Advocates for bail reform say it unfairly punishes defendants awaiting trial who cannot pay for their release.
Loren Jones, a bail bondsman, told the commission Wednesday this would be wrong for Delaware.
"I, and all of my colleagues, provide a vital service to defendants, to victims, to the citizens of the state of Delaware, to the judiciary, to the court system and to law enforcement,” he said. “We ensure an individual released on bail will go and show up for their court date.”
He constantly sees defendants who are arrested on minor crimes and considered low-risk not returning to court for their case.
"People sometimes think 'well police are not going to worry about me,' and then often don't want to deal with the legal situation they find themselves in," he said. "We guarantee they appear in court."
Jones supplied the commission with studies showing pre-trial services, which are a way of monitoring defendants released into the community, are failing to return defendants to court.
Although the public hearings are done, comments can still be submitted through Dec. 18 at courts.delaware.gov/supreme/accessform.stm.
Contact Jessica Masulli Reyes at 302-324-2777, jmreyes@delawareonline.com or Twitter @jessicaMasulli.