Cross-posted from Mike's campaign blog
Today The Oregonian's Editorial Board writes a very interesting piece on Oregon's early prisoner release program. In short, the board finds that the program, which was passed unanimously by the state legislature in 2003 (which included my opponent, House Majority Leader Wayne Scott), is open to abuse, citing the case of career criminal Timothy Joseph Boyd, who was arrested not long after being released from prison before his term was up, among others.
Supporters of the early release program claim that it reduces recidivism rate by 35 percent, which is certainly a good thing. But the anecdotal evidence offered by the board seems to indicate that this is further proof of Oregon's criminals not being held fully accountable for their actions. Last month, we learned that as a result of budget cuts, Multnomah County has let 200 "junkies, vandals and other 'low level' misdemeanor criminals" off of probation. As I wrote then,
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