Straight Talk From DOC - September 11, 2007 The Olympian Report

On Sept. 11, 2007 the Olympian newspaper published an article discussing the Department of Corrections’ release from prison of an offender classified as dangerously mentally ill. The offender had served his full sentence and had to be released. On Aug. 29, 2007, the offender was released to a transitional home in Thurston County operated by a firm that specializes in providing services to offenders with mental-health issues. Prior to the release, DOC notified the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney as required by law. The Olympian article reported concerns by Thurston County officials over the decision to release the offender to Thurston County and about the timing of the notification.

Background

On July 22, 2007, a new state law (ESSB 6157) went into effect requiring DOC to release offenders under community supervision to their county of first felony conviction unless certain exceptions exist. The exceptions include:

  1. Any court-ordered condition of the offender’s sentence;
  2. Victim safety concerns;
  3. Negative influences on the offender in the community;
  4. The location of family or other sponsoring persons or organizations that will support the offender.

When a decision is made to release an offender to a county other than the county of first felony conviction, DOC must notify the county where the offender is to be released. The new law does not specify how many days in advance notification must be made, but in all cases DOC intends to provide as much notification as possible. No notification requirement existed prior to implementation of the new law on July 22.

DOC Actions

Prior to releasing the offender discussed in the Olympian article, a routine review by  DOC staff showed the offender had previously received mental-health treatment in Thurston County, and that housing and treatment opportunities were currently available for him in Thurston. The offender’s county of first felony conviction was Clark County, but no family or other housing opportunities existed for him there. In other words, this dangerously mentally ill offender would have been homeless if he had been released in Clark County. Homeless offenders are more difficult to supervise for compliance with the conditions of their release in the community. In the interest of public safety, a team comprised of DOC staff and mental health-treatment providers made a decision to release the offender to a county where housing and treatment were available to him.      

DOC believes this decision enhanced public safety and complied with the new state law, based on Exception 4 listed above.

Additional Steps to Ensure Public Safety and Compliance with Law

To provide additional guarantees that similar decisions in the future meet the strict letter of the law, DOC Secretary Harold Clarke has established a new County of Origin Governance Board within DOC. The board’s responsibilities include reviewing cases in which DOC administrators propose releasing an offender under community supervision to a county other than the county of their first felony conviction, based on Exceptions 3 or 4 listed above. The Secretary will then review board recommendations and make a final decision.

Divider image - horizontal green bar