Senate panel to seek subpoena in early release of inmates

OLYMPIA — Expressing concern about an ongoing state investigation into the early release of thousands of prisoners in Washington state over a 13-year period, Republican leaders of a Senate committee said Tuesday they are seeking subpoena power in order to conduct their own investigation.

Senate Law and Justice Committee Chairman Mike Padden and Vice Chairman Steve O’Ban, joined by Senate Majority Leader Mark Schoesler, told reporters at a news conference that they had concerns about the independence of the investigation currently being done by two retired federal prosecutors. Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee hired the investigators to lead a probe into why a software coding error that miscalculated prison sentences occurred and then went unfixed for so long.

The error, disclosed Dec. 22, has led to the early release of up to 3,200 prisoners since 2002. At least two deaths have been tied to the early releases.

“Let’s be clear about what’s going on here. This is the case of the governor as the chief executive of our state who oversees the Department of Corrections investigating himself,” said O’Ban, R-Tacoma. “We are in this unfortunate position as a co-equal branch of government that has the duty, the responsibility, to provide accountability to the administrative branch.”

Padden and O’Ban notified Democratic Inslee of their intentions in a letter late Wednesday night, though Inslee on Thursday noted that the press was notified before his office was.

Inslee told reporters that if lawmakers had specific questions, all they had to do was to ask him or his staff.

“We all want to get to the bottom of this,” he said, and stressed the independence of the investigators’ work.

“I am not controlling or directing this investigation, and that’s important,” Inslee said, saying that implications otherwise are trying “to make this some kind of political partisan thing.”

“If you ask people who is more likely to get to the bottom of this fastest, it’s probably two prosecutors instead of one political party in an election year,” he said.

The Department of Corrections was first alerted to the error — which started in 2002 — in December 2012, when a victim’s family learned of a prisoner’s imminent release. The family did its own calculations and found he was being credited with too much time.

However, even though the agency consulted with attorneys regarding the error the same month and scheduled a fix for the program, it was repeatedly delayed and ultimately, never done. Department of Corrections Secretary Dan Pacholke said he didn’t learn of the error until the middle of last month, and the governor says he didn’t learn of the issue until that same time, when corrections’ officials notified his staff.

The committee’s move comes after Padden, R-Spokane Valley, said too many unanswered questions remained following a committee hearing earlier this week. At the Monday hearing, Pacholke was unable to answer several of Padden’s questions, including why it took more than a month for the head of the agency’s technology department to notify senior officials in about the problem, even though Padden said his questions for Pacholke were submitted in advance. Padden also said that lawmakers’ efforts to obtain records from the governor’s office and the Department of Corrections have been delayed.

Inslee spokeswoman Jaime Smith wrote in an email that the requests were being “handled properly and in accordance with the public records act.” She wrote that neither Padden nor his staff has requested one of the documents cited in his letter, a contract between the state and the investigators, but the office would have “been happy to give it to him if he had asked our office for it.”

“From the start, our administration has cooperated fully with the Legislature and we will continue to do that,” Smith wrote.

The Senate committee plans to start the subpoena process next week by passing a resolution seeking all documents from the Department of Corrections and the governor’s office pertaining to the erroneous early releases.

“This is something that was thrust upon us and we have an obligation to get to the bottom of it,” Padden said.

According to state records, the last time a legislative committee sought subpoena power was in 1988, when the Senate Rules committee authorized the Senate Law and Justice Committee to get records regarding alleged child abuse by a superior court judge that were held by the state Judicial Conduct Commission. The state Supreme Court quashed the subpoena, saying that that legislative subpoena power could not be used to compel violation of the commission’s confidentiality rules.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.