Harsh Sentences for Juveniles Under Oregon's Measure 11: Do They Work?

February 23, 2012

Harsh Sentences for Juveniles Under Oregon's Measure 11: Do They Work?

In 1994, Oregonians overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative that applied mandatory minimum prison sentences to persons convicted of certain serious crimes. Know as Measure 11, the ballot measure has resulted in longer terms for thousands of inmates and has dramatically increased the population within Oregon prisons and correspondingly costs to tax payers.

As 2012 gets underway, the debate as to whether Measure 11 is being appropriately applied to youthful offenders continues. Juveniles charged with an offense covered by Measure 11 are tried and sentenced as adults -- with no chance of any reduction in sentence for displaying good behavior or other rehabilitative progress. The life-changing finality of a conviction for a Measure 11 offense has some questioning whether it is a good approach to young offenders -- and makes an Oregon Measure 11 lawyer essential to anyone facing charges.

Many Experts Question the Effectiveness of Long Prison Sentences for Juveniles

At the end of 2011, the Commission on Public Safety delivered a report on sentencing in Oregon's criminal justice system to Governor Kitzhaber. In it, the commission made recommendations on how to trim the fat off Oregon's $1.4 billion annual correction budget.

Since 1994, the budget of the Oregon Department of Corrections has skyrocketed by some 250 percent. Most of that growth is due to an increase in the number of inmates: the direct cost "per inmate" has grown by less than four percent per year. Some contend that the growing prison population is a sign that more criminals are being kept off the streets and receiving their "just deserts" -- but others believe the state's resources are being grossly misallocated in terms of juvenile offenders.

"We need to take a more holistic approach," said Judge Patricia Martin, President of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, at a recent juvenile justice conference held in Multnomah County. "What if we thought of juvenile court like an emergency triage?"

Indeed, for young offenders who have vast potential for reform, lengthy prison sentences are widely condemned as a waste of state funds, as well a stumbling block in the path to reform and reintegration into society as responsible adults. According to Jonathan Cloud, another presenter at the Multnomah County conference and a delinquency prevention specialist, "[y]ou can punish and contain [young offenders] all you want," but it "adds nothing." Rather than long prison terms, more nuanced, interventional approaches could both improve public safety and help keep the massive Oregon prison budget in check.

Even more concerning are the scars caused to the psyche of juvenile offenders, once released after a long incarceration and now labeled as a convicts both in their own minds and the minds of future employers. There is little empirical data that supports incarceration of juvenile offenders having any deterrent effect, and it may in fact be counterproductive.

Zealously Safeguarding Rights Vital When Faced With Measure 11 Charges

One of the recommendations of the Commission on Public safety was to give sentencing judges who are now restricted by minimum sentences more discretion. Whether this proposed reform will become reality, however, remains to be seen. Until a more flexible sentencing structure takes form, anyone facing a Measure 11 charge should be keenly aware of the grave consequences of conviction, and thus the importance of retaining an experienced criminal defense attorney.

Article provided by The Law Office of Steven J. Sherlag
Visit us at http://www.sherlaglaw.com