H-2322              _______________________________________________

 

                                           SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 848

                        _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1985 Regular Session

 

By House Committee on Judiciary (originally sponsored by Representatives K. Wilson, Armstrong, Scott, P. King, Lewis, Allen, Leonard, S. Wilson, Tanner, Ebersole, J. Williams and Long

 

 

Read first time 3/8/85 and passed to Committee on Rules.

 

 


AN ACT Relating to crimes and punishments; amending RCW 9.94A.030 and 43.43.745; and adding new sections to chapter 9.94A RCW.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 9.94A RCW to read as follows:

          (1) At the earliest possible date, and in no event later than ten days before release except in the event of escape or emergency furloughs as defined in RCW 72.66.010, the department of corrections shall send written notice of parole, work release placement, furlough, or escape, if such notice has been requested in writing about a specific inmate convicted of a violent offense, to all of the following:

          (a) The chief of police of the city, if any, in which the inmate will reside, if known, or in which placement will be made in a work release program;

          (b) The sheriff of the county in which the inmate will reside, if known, or in which placement will be made in a work release program;

          (c) The victim, if any, of the crime for which the inmate was convicted or the victim's next of kin if the crime was a homicide; and

          (d) Any witnesses who testified against the inmate in any court proceedings involving the violent offense.

Information regarding victims, next of kin, or witnesses requesting the notice and the notice are confidential and shall not be available to the inmate.

          (2) If an inmate convicted of a violent offense escapes from a correctional facility, the department of corrections shall immediately notify, by the most reasonable and expedient means available, the chief of police of the city and the sheriff of the county in which the inmate resided immediately before the inmate's arrest and conviction.  If previously requested, the department shall also notify the witnesses and the victim, if any, of the crime for which the inmate was convicted or the victim's next of kin if the crime was a homicide.  If the inmate is recaptured, the department shall send notice to the persons designated in this subsection as soon as possible but in no event later than two working days after the department learns of such recapture.

          (3) The department of corrections shall send the notices required by this chapter to the last address provided to the department by the requesting party.  The requesting party shall furnish the department with a current address.

          (4) For purposes of this section the following terms have the following meanings:

          (a) "Violent offense" means a violent offense under RCW 9.94A.030;

          (b) "Next of kin" means a person's spouse, parents, siblings and children.

          (5) Nothing in this section shall impose any liability upon a chief of police of a city or sheriff of a county for failing to request in writing a notice as provided in subsection (1) of this section.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 9.94A RCW to read as follows:

          The department of corrections shall provide the victims and next of kin in the case of a homicide and witnesses involved in violent offense cases where a judgment and sentence was entered after October 1, 1983, a statement of the rights of victims and witnesses to request and receive notification under sections 1 and 3 of this act.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 9.94A RCW to read as follows:

          Requests for notification under section 1 of this act shall be made by sending a written request by certified mail directly to the department of corrections and giving the defendant's name, the name of the county in which the trial took place, and the month of the trial.  Notification information and necessary forms shall be available through the department of corrections, county prosecutors' offices, and other agencies as deemed appropriate by the department of corrections.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.  A new section is added to chapter 9.94A RCW to read as follows:

          The notification requirements of section 1 of this act are in addition to any requirements in RCW 43.43.745 or other law.

 

        Sec. 5.  Section 3, chapter 137, Laws of 1981 as last amended by section 3, chapter 209, Laws of 1984 and RCW 9.94A.030 are each amended to read as follows:

          Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

          (1) "Commission" means the sentencing guidelines commission.

          (2) "Community corrections officer" means an employee of the department who is responsible for carrying out specific duties in supervision of sentenced offenders and monitoring of sentence conditions.

          (3) "Community service" means compulsory service, without compensation, performed for the benefit of the community by the offender.

           (4) "Community supervision" means a period of time during which a convicted offender is subject to crime-related prohibitions and other sentence conditions imposed pursuant to this chapter by a court.  For first-time offenders, the supervision may include crime-related prohibitions and other conditions imposed pursuant to RCW 9.94A.120(5).

           (5) "Confinement" means total or partial confinement as defined in this section.

           (6) "Conviction" means an adjudication of guilt pursuant to Titles 10 or 13 RCW.

           (7) "Crime-related prohibition" means an order of a court prohibiting conduct that directly relates to the circumstances of the crime for which the offender has been convicted, and shall not be construed to mean orders directing an offender affirmatively to participate in rehabilitative programs or to otherwise perform affirmative conduct.

           (8) (a) "Criminal history" means the list of a defendant's prior convictions, whether in this state, in federal court, or elsewhere.  The history shall include, where known, for each conviction (i) whether the defendant has been placed on probation and the length and terms thereof; and (ii) whether the defendant has been incarcerated and the length of incarceration.

          (b) "Criminal history" includes a defendant's convictions or pleas of guilty in juvenile court if:  (i) The guilty plea or conviction was for an offense which is a felony and is criminal history as defined in RCW 13.40.020(6)(a); and (ii) the defendant was fifteen years of age or older at the time the offense was committed; and (iii) the defendant had not reached his or her twenty-third birthday at the time the offense for which he or she is being sentenced was committed.

           (9) "Department" means the department of corrections.

           (10) "Determinate sentence" means a sentence that states with exactitude the number of actual years, months, or days of total confinement, of partial confinement, of community supervision, the number of actual hours or days of community service work, or dollars or terms of a fine or restitution.  The fact that an offender through "earned early release" can reduce the actual period of confinement shall not affect the classification of the sentence as a determinate sentence.

           (11) "Fines" means the requirement that the offender pay a specific sum of money over a specific period of time to the court.

           (12) "First-time offender" means any person convicted of a felony not classified as a violent offense under this chapter, who previously has never been convicted of a felony in this state, federal court, or another state, and who has never participated in a program of deferred prosecution for a felony offense.

           (13) "Offender" means a person who has committed a felony established by state law and is eighteen years of age or older or is less than eighteen years of age but whose case has been transferred by the appropriate juvenile court to a criminal court pursuant to RCW 13.40.110.  Throughout this chapter, the terms "offender" and "defendant" are used interchangeably.

           (14) "Partial confinement" means confinement for no more than one year in a facility or institution operated or utilized under contract by the state or any other unit of government, for a substantial portion of each day with the balance of the day spent in the community.

           (15) "Restitution" means the requirement that the offender pay a specific sum of money over a specific period of time to the court as payment of damages.  The sum may include both public and private costs.  The imposition of a restitution order does not preclude civil redress.

           (16) "Sentence range" means the sentencing court's discretionary range in imposing a nonappealable sentence.

           (17) "Total confinement" means confinement inside the physical boundaries of a facility or institution operated or utilized under contract by the state or any other unit of government for twenty-four hours a day, or pursuant to RCW 72.64.050 and 72.64.060.

          (18) "Victim" means any person who has sustained physical or financial injury to person or property as a direct result of the crime charged.

           (19) "Violent offense" means:

          (a) Any of the following felonies, as now existing or hereafter amended:  Any felony defined under any law as a class A felony or an attempt to commit a class A felony, criminal solicitation of or criminal conspiracy to commit a class A felony, manslaughter in the first degree, manslaughter in the second degree, indecent liberties if committed by forcible compulsion, rape in the second degree, kidnapping in the second degree, arson in the second degree, assault in the second degree, extortion in the first degree, robbery in the second degree, and vehicular homicide;

          (b) Any conviction for a felony offense in effect at any time prior to July 1, 1976, that is comparable to a felony classified as a violent offense in subsection (((18))) (19)(a) of this section; and

          (c) Any federal or out-of-state conviction for an offense that under the laws of this state would be a felony classified as a violent offense under subsection (((18))) (19)(a) or (b) of this section.

 

        Sec. 6.  Section 10, chapter 152, Laws of 1972 ex. sess. as amended by section 1, chapter 20, Laws of 1973 and RCW 43.43.745 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) It shall be the duty of the sheriff or director of public safety of every county, of the chief of police of each city or town, or of every chief officer of other law enforcement agencies operating within this state, to record the fingerprints of all persons held in or remanded to their custody when convicted of any crime as provided for in RCW 43.43.735 for which the penalty of imprisonment might be imposed and to disseminate and file such fingerprints in the same manner as those recorded upon arrest pursuant to RCW 43.43.735 and 43.43.740.

          (2) Every time the secretary authorizes a furlough as provided for in RCW 72.66.012 the department of ((social and health services)) corrections shall notify, forty-eight hours prior to the beginning of such furlough, the section that the named prisoner has been granted a furlough, the place to which furloughed, and the dates and times during which the prisoner will be on furlough status.  In the case of an emergency furlough the forty-eight hour time period shall not be required but notification shall be made as promptly as possible and before the prisoner is released on furlough.  Upon receipt of furlough information pursuant to the provisions of this subsection the section shall notify the sheriff or director of public safety of the county to which the prisoner is being furloughed, the nearest attachment of the Washington state patrol in the county wherein the furloughed prisoner shall be residing and such other criminal justice agencies as the section may determine should be so notified.

          (3) Disposition of the charge for which the arrest was made shall be reported to the section at whatever stage in the proceedings a final disposition occurs by the arresting law enforcement agency, county prosecutor, city attorney, or court having jurisdiction over the offense:  PROVIDED, That the chief shall promulgate rules pursuant to chapter 34.04 RCW to carry out the provisions of this subsection.

          (4) Whenever a person serving a sentence for a term of confinement in a state correctional facility for convicted felons, pursuant to court commitment, is released on an order of the state board of prison terms and paroles, or is discharged from custody on expiration of sentence, the department of ((social and health services)) corrections shall promptly notify the section that the named person has been released or discharged, the place to which such person has been released or discharged, and the conditions of his release or discharge, and shall additionally notify the section of change in residence or conditions of release or discharge of persons on active parole supervision, and shall notify the section when persons are discharged from active parole supervision.

          No city, town, county, or local law enforcement authority or other agency thereof may require that a convicted felon entering, sojourning, visiting, in transit, or residing in such city, town, county, or local area report or make himself known as a convicted felon or make application for and/or carry on his person a felon identification card or other registration document.  Nothing herein shall, however, be construed to prevent any local law enforcement authority from recording the residency and other information concerning any convicted felon or other person convicted of a criminal offense when such information is obtained from a source other than from such requirement which source may include any officer or other agency or subdivision of the state.