With just days left in his term, a lame-duck district attorney in Portland, Oregon, asked a judge to commute the sentences of several violent criminals, including a man involved in the murder and sexual assault of an elderly woman.
Mike Schmidt has been the district attorney for Multnomah County, Oregon, for over four years. During that time, he said he took a far-left approach to law enforcement and worked “to make the criminal legal system more fair.” Official biography.
“Many would have believed at the time that the sentence he received was too light.”
The “fair” soft-on-crime approach apparently did not sit well with voters, who backed former Republican challenger Nathan Vasquez, who ran as an independent to replace Schmidt in November.
With Vasquez poised to take over on Jan. 6, Schmidt has made the final push toward commuting the sentences of eight offenders under Senate Bill 819.
Some of the criminals Schmidt wants to help are: frank swopes A 62-year-old junior was convicted of the felony murder of 75-year-old Gene Stevenson in December 1993.
The details of the incident are gruesome. Swopes and an accomplice broke into Stevenson's home, tied the frightened woman to a bed, stole her wedding ring, and sexually assaulted her. Katu Reported. Ms. Stevenson was then suffocated after Ms. Swopes' accomplice pushed her to the floor. new york post Said.
So far, Swopes has served 32 years of his 35-year sentence, but Schmidt hopes to be released soon. The prosecutor in the case, former Deputy District Attorney Jim McIntyre, called Swopes' attempt to reduce his sentence “unconscionable.”
“Many people would have believed at the time that the sentence he received was too light,” McIntyre said, according to KATU. “And he has three more years left in his term, and that's exactly what he's supposed to serve.”
Another convicted felon on Schmidt's list is Shane Everts, who pleaded guilty to first- and second-degree assault in connection with a 1995 attack on a college student. Mr. Everts was 17 years old at the time.
Everts has already completed his seven-and-a-half year sentence, but Schmidt wants to withdraw his guilty plea and instead give him the opportunity to plead guilty to attempted second-degree assault, the newspaper reported.
One of Everts' victims, Evan Gardner, is furious at the move to expunge first- and second-degree assault convictions from Everts' record in favor of lesser charges.
“They collectively caused irreparable damage that will remain with us and our families, both our extended families, forever,” Gardner said, according to the newspaper. “It shattered my sense of safety.”
“This is the same work we have been doing throughout our term.”
Democratic Rep.-Elect Vasquez also argued to Multnomah County Judge Melvin Oden-Orr that many of the victims of Schmidt's lawsuit have not been contacted as required by law.
“It really looks like a last-minute perk,” Vasquez said.
“These are very violent individuals who committed horrific crimes and are being given some type of reprieve.”
Judge Odenall chose to postpone decisions on re-sentencing most of the victims until February 13 due to concerns for the victims' notice and for the perpetrators themselves.
Following the judge's decision, Judge Schmidt said he believed seeking lenient punishment for violent criminals was only part of his job.
“Today, the court held hearings in several SB 819 cases, recognizing that people have turned their lives around and finding that charges can be changed or dismissed so they can move on with their lives with a clean record. I agreed,” Schmidt said in a statement. According to K.G.W.. “We hope the court will consider this matter thoughtfully and grant the petition.”
Schmidt's statement provided no evidence that the offenders had actually “turned their lives around,” but Schmidt said in a separate statement that “each of these petitions was considered in a thorough process spanning several months. “It was done,” he said. Community Advisory Board Opinion.
“This is the same work we have been doing throughout our term.”
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