Judiciary Committee examines parole and probation

THERMOPOLIS – The Joint House and Senate Judiciary Committee began two days of hearings in Thermopolis on Thursday, giving a variety of legal entities including county prosecutors and law enforcement officials a chance to brief lawmakers on the current state of the state’s criminal justice system.

In attendance and representing Washakie County in the audience were Judges Robert Skar and Tom Harrington, and County Attorney John Worrall.

Before the committee, during a special session on the effectiveness of the state parole and probation system, Natrona County District Attorney Michael Blonigen observed that violent crime is down, but stressed the need for supervised probation to mitigate the chances of repeat offenders further committing crimes once released back into society.

“For reform to be effective, we need to emphasize monitored probation and rehabilitation programs,” said Blonigen. “Right now, due to [budget] cuts, we are not.”

Blonigen noted that statistically driving under the influence (DUI) arrests are down, due mainly to an increase in supervised probation and monitoring for previous DUI offenders, and the implementation of alcohol courts throughout the state, but with recent budget cuts, drug testing funding during probation is limited, which accounts for a lack of accountability and repeat offenses.

“There is value in early intervention,” said Blonigen. “If we can deal with juveniles who might become offenders, it will reduce our future parole and probation numbers.”

Blonigen repeated the need for dedicated drug courts, which can provide supervision and testing to probable future abusers, but again noted that funding was lacking. As it stands, noted Blonigen, cheap drugs such as opioids and methamphetamines are more readily available than treatment in many parts of the state.

Early intervention is effective,” said Blonigen, “and keeps people out of the system.”

When questioned by Senator Larry Hicks (R-Baggs) about the most appropriate use of current funding, Blonigen replied that early drug testing and an expansion of the drug courts throughout the state would be the best use of money.

Addressing the current

early-release procedures for state inmates, Blonigen warned that there needs to be more communication between prosecutors and the state parole board. “We’ve created this system of sentence inflation where they [inmates] don’t serve the actual time sentenced, but rather more like one-third,” said Blonigen.

When asked by Representative Nathan Winters (R-Thermopolis) to clarify the “special good time” often assigned by the parole board to inmates up for parole, Blonigen stated that the state is often eager to release inmates into rehabilitation programs early, which “is fundamentally dishonest to the victims and court because the time served is nowhere near the time sentenced.”

“I think it is fair to say that, based on what you are recommending, is that this committee should focus on early intervention rather than early release,” said Rep. Winters, to which Blonigen agreed.

Representative Tim Salazar (R-Dubois) commented that “I couldn’t live with myself if a repeat [violent] offender endangered someone due to budget cuts.”

The Judiciary Committee will continue meeting today at the Days Inn, hearing matters related to child custody and support, and new technologies being applied to Wyoming court systems.