Thousands of Minnesotans oppose Sentencing Guidelines change
As the Sentencing Guidelines Commission meets today to consider a proposal to weaken prison terms for felons, they will have over 3,400 emails to read from Minnesotans who participated in American Experiment’s latest call to action.
The Commission votes today on a proposal to eliminate custody status points from consideration for felony sentences. The Walz appointees on the Commission believe criminals should not be given stronger sentences if they commit more crimes while on probation or parole, or even if they’ve escaped custody. That will mean lower sentences for criminals who commit murder, rape, assault, robbery and felony DWI.
Worse yet, sex offenders currently receive double points for their custody status, so eliminating this part of the grid will disproportionally benefit the worst criminals in our system.
American Experiment initiated a call to action to provide public input for today’s meeting and 3,362 Minnesotans sent emails to the Commission urging members to reject the proposed changes. Here is the text of the message sent to the Commission:
Dear Sentencing Guidelines Commission:
I write to oppose the proposal to eliminate custody status points from consideration for felony sentences. This change will lower sentences across the board for convicted felons, especially sex offenders.
As the state deals with an unprecedented crime wave, the last thing we should be doing is letting violent offenders out of prison earlier. This proposal is contrary to the core mission of the Sentencing Guidelines Commission, protecting public safety.
The fact that someone is on probation or parole (or even escaped) when they commit another crime certainly should factor into their sentence. It’s only common sense. Please reject this one-size-fits-all solution that will make our state more dangerous.