{"id":1467,"date":"2020-02-10T11:26:09","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T19:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sdc.wastateleg.org\/dhingra\/?p=1467"},"modified":"2020-09-17T00:09:59","modified_gmt":"2020-09-17T00:09:59","slug":"more-drug-offenders-would-be-sentenced-to-treatment-instead-of-prison-under-proposed-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/dhingra\/2020\/02\/10\/more-drug-offenders-would-be-sentenced-to-treatment-instead-of-prison-under-proposed-law\/","title":{"rendered":"More drug offenders would be sentenced to treatment instead of prison under proposed law"},"content":{"rendered":"

From The Peninsula Daily News<\/a><\/p>\n

Proposals moving through the Legislature would expand the eligibility of incarcerated people to receive treatment for substance abuse in lieu of, or concurrently with, prison sentences.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 6211 was heard by the Law and Justice Committee in an executive session Thursday. Its companion, House Bill 2334, was considered Saturday in House Appropriations.<\/p>\n

Both bills expand the eligibility for the state\u2019s existing drug offender sentencing alternative to people convicted of crimes, such as certain sex offenses, that make them ineligible presently.<\/p>\n

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For example, the Senate version would extend the alternative to those who \u201chave been convicted of a sex offense, so long as the offender is no longer required to register; and have been convicted of robbery in the second degree, if the conviction did not involve the use of a firearm and the charge was not reduced from robbery in the first degree within seven years before conviction of the current offense,\u201d according to the bill report.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWe all know that access to substance abuse disorder treatment is something we all need to work on and provide more of,\u201d said Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, the Senate version\u2019s primary sponsor.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bill takes a look at some of the barriers that individuals have in accessing that treatment and helps address those barriers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill also broadens the eligibility of an offender to receive a residential-based sentencing, as opposed to a prison-based one.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrent law unnecessarily shuts the door on many offenders who want that treatment, without which they would be susceptible to committing crime to support their addiction,\u201d said Joel Merkel, King County deputy prosecuting attorney, during a Thursday public hearing on the Senate bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bill will allow more non-violent offenders who want treatment to choose treatment over incarceration,\u201d Merkel said.<\/p>\n

Under the bill, the court will be authorized to sentence in-patient treatment lasting up to six months for the prisoner, which may include confinement in jail for up to 30 days for the purpose of facilitating a direct transfer to the treatment.<\/p>\n

The Department of Corrections is also required to submit a report on the effectiveness of the alternative treatment program on the offender every five years.<\/p>\n

Corrections officials raised concerns over the expansion of residential patients to the jail population.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do see in the governor\u2019s budget an expansion of DOSA beds,\u201d said Melena Thompson, Corrections executive policy director.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that expansion will only address our current wait list.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Leona Vaughn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From The Peninsula Daily News Proposals moving through the Legislature would expand the eligibility of incarcerated people to receive treatment for substance abuse in lieu of, or concurrently with, prison sentences. Senate Bill 6211 was heard by the Law and Justice Committee in an executive session Thursday. Its companion, House Bill 2334, was considered Saturday in House Appropriations. Both bills expand the eligibility for the state\u2019s existing drug offender sentencing alternative to people convicted of crimes, such as certain sex offenses, that make them ineligible presently. For example, the Senate version would extend the alternative to those who \u201chave been…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":1110,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMore drug offenders would be sentenced to treatment instead of prison under proposed law - Sen. Manka Dhingra<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/dhingra\/2020\/02\/10\/more-drug-offenders-would-be-sentenced-to-treatment-instead-of-prison-under-proposed-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"More drug offenders would be sentenced to treatment instead of prison under proposed law - Sen. Manka Dhingra\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From The Peninsula Daily News Proposals moving through the Legislature would expand the eligibility of incarcerated people to receive treatment for substance abuse in lieu of, or concurrently with, prison sentences. Senate Bill 6211 was heard by the Law and Justice Committee in an executive session Thursday. Its companion, House Bill 2334, was considered Saturday in House Appropriations. Both bills expand the eligibility for the state\u2019s existing drug offender sentencing alternative to people convicted of crimes, such as certain sex offenses, that make them ineligible presently. For example, the Senate version would extend the alternative to those who \u201chave been...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/dhingra\/2020\/02\/10\/more-drug-offenders-would-be-sentenced-to-treatment-instead-of-prison-under-proposed-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sen. 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