‘A step in the wrong direction.’ Parson urged to veto crime bill that harshens sentences

It was only a year ago that criminal justice reform advocates applauded Gov. Mike Parson and Missouri lawmakers for making what they said were long-needed changes.

The legislature passed and Parson signed a series of bills to reduce the prisoner population (90,000) in a state with one of the nation’s highest rates of incarceration. They included elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for some nonviolent offenses and the end of additional time as punishment for those who can’t pay jail board bills.

Instead, Senate Bill 600, now awaiting Parson’s signature or veto, lengthens sentences and creates new crimes. It could add an additional 2,500 inmates by 2038, at an estimated cost of $16 million, according to a nonpartisan fiscal analysis.

Nimrod Chapel, head of the Missouri NAACP, calls the bill an election-year “soundbite for politicians” eager to burnish their tough-on-crime bona fides. He predicted that the result would disproportionately impact black residents.

“This solution — Senate Bill 600 — is a step in the wrong direction,” said Chapel, among the advocates who signed a letter to Parson asking for his veto. “We don’t need mandatory minimums and if we want to cure crime within the inner city, what we need to make sure is people have the equal opportunity to participate in society.”

A majority of the bill’s provisions were approved by the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys and several law enforcement agencies. One measure — establishing vehicle hijacking as a crime — was pushed forward by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.. Currently, the offense is prosecuted as robbery or stealing, depending on the value of the car.

Proponents argue that the bill would only affect the most violent offenders and is an answer to the homicides that have ravaged Missouri’s largest cities.

“We have a problem where people are being cycled in and out of the system and are not being appropriately punished,” bill sponsor state Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, a Parkville Republican, said. “As a consequence of that, we are seeing bloodshed in a lot of our cities.”

Parson undecided

The pressure to find solutions to violent crime has mounted since last fall.

After multiple killings in Kansas City and more than a dozen children shot in St. Louis last year, mayors of Missouri’s largest cities lobbied Parson and lawmakers with their proposals to mitigate violent crime.

Their top priority was a witness relocation and protection fund for those who cooperated with homicide investigations. Though it found bipartisan support and was largely considered uncontroversial, a bill that included the measure was never put up for a final vote.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas remained disappointed the proposal did not pass.

Homicides in Kansas City are set to outpace last year. As of Tuesday, Kansas City had 79 homicides, compared to 59 homicides at the same time last year.

“Kansas City’s low shooting clearance rate remains devastating,” Lucas said in a statement. “It’s long overdue that we bring justice to the families of victims.”

If it becomes law, SB 600 could lead the state to pay half a billion dollars for two new prisons to house additional inmates, according to Jeremy Cady, state director for the Missouri chapter of Americans for Prosperity. The libertarian think tank, largely funded by the billionaire Koch family, signed on to the letter asking Parson to veto the bill.

Not only would it lead to a waste of taxpayer dollars, the bill represents a “discredited tough on crime approach,” he added.

“Vetoing this bill will be a huge step toward making our communities stronger and our criminal justice system more just and more compassionate,” Cady said in a statement.

Parson said Tuesday he has not looked at the bill and that it was under review by his staff. He did did express opposition to new prisons.

“I’m not interested in building more prisons,” Parson, who shut a prison last year, said during a press briefing. “That would be a last resort for me.”

‘Entire generations disposed of’

One of the provisions that most concerns opponents stiffens penalties for the crime of armed criminal action. Those convicted of armed criminal action — a charge that must be paired with another crime, often robbery — would have to serve their sentences consecutively, instead of concurrently, instead of leaving the choice up to judges and juries.

Armed criminal action is one of the top 10 offenses committed by black male Missouri inmates incarcerated as of June 30, 2019, with the average sentence more than 18 years. The offense did not appear in the top 20 offenses for non-black Missouri inmates.

Critics contend that the change would only enlarge the state’s prison population, but those filling the prisons would be black men.

“What they’re really doing is ensuring that entire generations are going to be completely disposed of, without having an opportunity to have ever been a taxpayer, to participate in their communities or help raise families,” Chapel said.

However, the change would make it clear that use of a firearm during a crime lends to a heavier penalty, Luetkemeyer said.

“If you allow judges or prosecutors to roll those sentences concurrently with the underlying felony offense, then (armed criminal action) loses its effect as a sentence enhancer,” Luetkemeyer said.

The bill makes other significant changes. It prohibits probation for second-degree murder, which Luetkemeyer said was inspired by a 2014 series by The Kansas City Star that showed those convicted of the crime in Jackson County sometimes didn’t face a day in prison.

SB 600 would also align conspiracy and gang-related charges with those at the federal level, allowing for Missouri prosecutors to target street gangs in one indictment, instead of individually, according to Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd.

Zahnd called the current statutes regarding street gangs “well-intentioned” but in need of reform, as they are not suited to what modern-day gangs look like.

“I think (SB 600) will make it much easier for prosecutors to address the problems posed by all sorts of criminal conspiracies, including those that currently are really giving us problems in Kansas City and other metropolitan areas in Missouri,” Zahnd said.

Zahnd said that in addition to punishment and rehabilitation, the purpose of a prison sentence is incapacitation.

“We know that when somebody is behind bars, they can’t continue to prey on innocent members of the communities,” Zahnd said.

Both Kansas City and the Kansas City Police Department testified in favor of the provisions of the bill that would make it easier to target street gangs.

Many of the charges that were enhanced or created by the bill can already be prosecuted, according to Mary Fox, Missouri State Public Defender director.

“Making things crimes never -- never -- stops crimes,” Fox said.“The way you take care of crime is giving people a reason to not be involved in criminal activity. And that’s by providing resources within their community.

This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 11:12 AM.