This story is meant as a one-stop-shop with all the info needed for introducing resolutions at Washington's upcoming presidential caucuses. The sample resolution offered here is a call to reform Washington's 3-Strikes law, which imposes sentences of life imprisonment for repeat offenders committing low-violence crimes involving no injuries, no weapons, and small amounts of money. Washington's Sentencing Guidelines Commission has recommended removing these crimes from the list of offenses that trigger life imprisonment, but efforts to do this in the legislature have been stymied for years. The reform will happen when key legislators get enough emails and calls from constituents. The caucus resolution process can help that happen.
Links to the 3-Strikes and other sample resolutions appear below the fold.
One of the two major activities of the Democratic precinct caucuses coming up on February 9th is the submittal of resolutions that will be considered at the county and state conventions.A few resolutions will make it to the national convention.
Any person participating in the caucuses can bring a resolution and submit it at their precinct caucuses for consideration at the county and LD conventions. I believe this is a matter of simply providing a copy of the resolution to the organizers of the caucus, who will then pass it on to the next stage. It's a good idea to bring extra copies of your proposed resolution to give to others at the caucuses for their consideration. Many people who attend the precinct caucuses go on as delegates to the next stage. Those delegates can support resolutions as they participate in the ongoing process that culminates in the national convention.
Additions and corrections to this explanation I'm offering here are welcomed.
RESOLUTION: A CALL TO REFORM WASHINGTON'S PERSISTENT OFFENDERS OR "3-STRIKES" LAW
PDF of the Resolution available here
Whereas: The Revised Code of Washington at RCW 9.94A.010 requires that punishment for crimes be proportionate to the seriousness of the crimes and commensurate with punishment provided for similar crimes;
Whereas: Initiative 593, approved by Washington state voters in 1993, states, in part: "Punishments for criminal offenses should be proportionate to both the seriousness of the crime and the prior criminal history.... By sentencing three-time most serious offenders to prison for life without the possibility of parole, the people intend to: improve public safety by placing the most dangerous criminals in prison."
Whereas: The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) at 9.94A, which enacts the reforms called for under Initiative 593 and is often referred to as the persistent offenders or "3-Strikes" law, includes Robbery 2 and Assault 2 on the list of "most serious offenses" that trigger life imprisonment;
Whereas: Washington's Sentencing Guidelines Commission (The Commission) is the state agency charged with evaluating sentencing policies and recommending modifications to the Governor and Legislature;
Whereas: The Commission recommended to the Legislature in its 2001 annual Sentencing Reform Act Review that it remove Robbery 2, and consider removing some forms of Assault 2, from the list of offenses triggering life imprisonment under 3-Strikes, noting that the range of behaviors associated with Robbery 2 and with some instances of Assault 2 do not rise to the level of "most serious" offenses and that, specifically, in the case of Robbery 2, these behaviors pose "little risk of physical injury";
Whereas: The inclusion on the list of 3-Strike list of crimes that involve little risk of physical injury and/or do not rise to the level of behavior considered by most reasonable people to constitute "most serious offenses" violates the proportionality requirements expressed in RCW 9.94A.010;
Whereas: The inclusion on the list of 3-Strike list of crimes that involve little risk of physical injury and/or do not rise to the level of behavior considered by most reasonable people to constitute "most serious offenses" violates the clear intent of Washington citizens who voted for Initiative 593 with the understanding that it would increase proportionality in our state's criminal justice laws and impose life imprisonment only on the "most serious" and "most dangerous" repeat offenders;
Whereas: The inclusion on the list of 3-Strike list of crimes that involve little risk of physical injury and/or do not rise to the level of behavior considered by most reasonable people to constitute "most serious offenses" results in great suffering and harm to individuals who are serving life sentences for these crimes and for their families and other loved ones, causes significant unnecessary expense for the state, and reduces public respect for the rule of law;
Whereas: Each year, bills that would bring Washington state into compliance with the proportionality requirements of RCW 9.94A.010, with The Commission's recommendations, and with the intent of I-593 are introduced in the state legislature without success;
Whereas: Serious Racial disparity exists throughout Washington State's criminal justice system but is perhaps at its most severe in the persistent offenders population which comprises 45% African Americans in comparison to our state population which is 3.5% African American.
Whereas: The 2006 Washington State Democratic Party platform declares the following: "We recognize that civil order is necessary to the survival of a free and democratic state. Civil order can occur only when Justice treats the least among us the same as the greatest in all legal matters. We also recognize that in the pursuit of civil order, we cannot abandon the legal principles upon which a free and democratic society relies. We affirm Liberty and Justice for everyone residing in the U.S. according to the Constitution and believe that criminal justice and human rights are linked."
Therefore Be it Resolved: That we the Washington State Democratic Central Committee call Washington's governor and each of our state's legislators to vigorously support and defend legislation that removes Robbery 2 and any Assault 2 or other offenses not reasonably qualifying as "most dangerous" and "most serious" from the list of offenses that trigger life imprisonment under the persistent offenders provisions in Washington state;
Furthermore be it Resolved: That we the Washington State Democratic Central Committee call on Washington's governor and each of our state's legislators to acknowledge and address the racial disparity in our criminal justice system which manifests in perhaps its most extreme form among those incarcerated under the persistent offenders laws of the state, and to act with due haste to eliminate this dangerous and unjust disparity.
For consideration in the Presidential caucus/convention cycle by the members of Clover Precinct in the 47th Legislative District on February 9, 2007.
[PERSON'S NAME] - [PRECINCT NAME] Caucus Chair -- Date Submitted - 2/9/08
[Informational, please don't include on resolution: For more information or to request notification when 3-Strikes reform legislation needs support at key times in the legislative cycle, contact Noemie Maxwell, noemie (at) washblog (dot) com.]