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Committee hears bill to limit —persistent offender— designation to adult convictions; witnesses sharply divided
Summary
Senate Bill 5,945 would restrict the persistent-offender (three-strikes) designation to convictions occurring after age 18 and require resentencing review when a used conviction occurred as a juvenile. Proponents cited adolescent brain science and racial equity; opponents warned of retraumatizing victims and fiscal cost. Estimates of affected people ranged from about 22 to 24.
Senate Bill 5,945, introduced to the Human Services Committee on Jan. 13, would redefine "persistent offender" to include only convictions that occurred after a person turned 18 and require resentencing hearings where a conviction used to impose a persistent-offender sentence occurred while the defendant was a juvenile.
Will Tronson, committee staff, summarized the statutory framework behind the three-strikes law (commonly linked to Initiative 593) and the bill's mechanics: if a sentencing record used to impose a persistent-offender sentence included an offense date before age 18, a prosecutor or the individual could move for relief and…
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