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August 25, 2008 - Convicted murderers serving a life sentence would have a chance at parole under the terms of a bill now under consideration by a State
House committee. H.B.4154 would overturn a 1978 court ruling
in Illinois that eliminated parole hearings for prisoners serving life. The bill would also give prisoners over 50 who
have completed at least 25 years of their sentence an elderly sentence adjustment. Inmates on death row would not be eligible.
The House Committee on Prison Reform reviewed the bill for the first time last week just blocks away from an exhibit featuring the artwork of maximum-security prisoners, many who could benefit from the bill. Light from Inside, an exhibit of over 150 art pieces from 51 Illinois inmates, opened two weeks ago at the Chicago Cultural Center and runs through Sept. 28.
The John Howard Association of Illinois , a prisoner advocacy group, organized the exhibit and strongly supports the elderly sentencing reform bill. "The value we see is in rehabilitation," said Malcolm C. Young, executive director of John Howard.
"Criminals have problems and one of these problems is the inability to communicate," Young said.
Eleen R. Arnswald, a 44 year old inmate of Dwight Correctional Facility and artist featured in Light from Inside, wrote in the description of her paintings: "I am beginning to understand the therapeutic effects of my artwork."
But a local victims advocacy group is skeptical. "What about the victims?" asked Jennifer Bishop, founder of IllinoisVictims.org, a Web resource for victims and families of crime.
Bishop, 50, whose pregnant sister and brother-in-law were shot and killed in 1990 said she supports much of the John Howard prison reform effort, but objects to what she sees as a recent shift from prisoner's rights to sentence reduction.
If the bill would pass, the man convicted of murdering Bishop's family members would be eligible for parole in as little as 15 years. "It's not fair. I would have to attend parole hearings every two years," Bishop said.
Janie Edwards, 62, is in a similar situation.
Sixteen years ago her son Jarrell was killed in a brutal attack in her
home. The convicted killer was sentenced to life.
His artwork appears in the exhibit. H.B.4154 would make Jarrell's
killer eligible for parole in the next 20 years.
When asked about this possibility, Edwards became silent before saying: "I would fight it tooth and nail."
Though it may be years before the bill comes to a vote in the General Assembly, the wheels are in motion: "Someone's got to start it," Young said.
Jennifer Bishop said 8/28/08
Its always frustrating to see ones own words reduced to something not entirely reflective of our complex position, though we understand the constraints of space, and I am grateful for this feedback opportunity.
While I commend the coverage of this important issue largely unnoticed by mainstream media, and continue to support prison and criminal justice reform with all my might, the quotation of mine in this article just does not capture adequately the position of IllinoisVictims.org.
If I said "its not fair" in my hour long interview with the reporter, which I do not remember saying, it was in the context of our concerns for crime victims rights to be notified of a proposal to retroactively undo a determinate life or long term prison sentence of a guilty murderer of their beloved and innocent loved ones that they walked away believing could not be changed because we live in a state that has had truth in sentncing for decades.
The article does not explain that HB 4154 would completely undo that, which is why the states finest legal minds have already denounced this legislation as not even close to being able to pass constitutionality tests.
Though we all support and even pray for rehabilitation in all offenders, and I support Restorative Justice with my very life each and every day, this bill would have us try to solve the few flaws in the system by requiring victims families to re-engage with the scariest person in their lives without any legal finality for decades after the crime, and that is not the solution.
This bill will never garner serious support - it proposes that 25 years after a trial originally takes place, that a whole new sentencing hearing in court takes place.
No, there are other solutions.
We have earned release and half off good time provisions in law already for all offenders except murderers, and other extremely serious cases can earn up to 15 percent off.
These prison sentence reformers should work to extend those good time credits to a broader range of offenders rather than draw victims back into court over and over.
That is . ..IF . . .they can pass it.
Of this we are somewhat doubtful because we recognize that most people think that aggravated and multiple premeditated murderers deserve long term or even life sentences. And that those sentences should be fully served. And that victims deserve some finality.
We strongly support, however, and cannot imagine why we don't have serious legislative efforts from John Howard Association and others, bills that would completely change the ridiculous way we house long term prisoners who have completely rehabilitated.
Why isn't John Howard filing bills that would create a much easier transfer mechanism for lifers and long termers that are aged, reformed, and not a safety risk but willing to help others to lower security facilities that allow them to teach, mentor, work to earn money for their victims, their upkeep costs, and for their families on the outside? Why doesn't John Howard propose legislation that stops the warehousing of long term prisoners and puts them into self-financing programs that help them and the public as well? Why doesn't John Howard propose legislation that would end long prison sentences for the almost two-thirds of our state's prisoners incarcerated for NON-violent offenses? Why are their first efforts for the handful of lifers who have committed some of the worst offenses that any human being could ever imagine? And why are they unwilling to give one ounce of their well-funded staff and office time to notify and reach out to victims families?
We don't have an office with several lawyers working for us. We are just victims families left to fend for ourselves while millions are spent on advocacy to reduce the sentences of those who permanently destroyed lives by their own choice.
We had no such choice. We did not force our lives upon them. They forced theirs into ours. And took life. And now we have to deal with that. But we should not have to engage with these offenders unendingly for the rest of our lives.
Though our state constitution guarantees fair treatment for crime victims, we arent whining about how "unfair" this bill is to us- we just want to be fully informed as to all matters pertaining to our case, which is the very least we are owed considering what the offenders took from us.
And yet the supporters of this bill have refused our request that they invite the victims families of these crimes to the discussion of this bill or that they even inform them of the effort to change the sentences given to the offenders in their cases.
If you were the parent of a murdered child, wouldnt you want to know about a bill that could change your life?
Bottom line, the advocates for this bill are thinking only of the offenders and have made no provision for the victims of these crimes- a dynamic we are trying to change.
The dialog requires all stakeholders to be at the table.
At this point, as far as we know, this bill would affect potentially tens thousand or more victims family members, and yet as far as we know, only about 50 of us know about it, and only because we have worked to find each other.
That is not right.
We are encouraged at least by reports in Springfield that this bill has little support and will not even likely get out of committee.
Jennifer
www.illinoisvictims.org