New law aims to deny some felons bail

Published 10:39 pm Sunday, December 6, 2009

OLYMPIA — Hearings will be held and laws could change next year when state legislators examine why the man accused of gunning down four Lakewood police officers had been free on bail given his long criminal history.

Today, a Lake Stevens lawmaker may file legislation to make convicted criminals ineligible for bail if they are charged with new crimes that could put them in prison for life under the state’s three-strikes law.

Republican Rep. Mike Hope is proposing an amendment to the state constitution making clear those with two felony convictions and facing a possible third strike must be kept locked up until either charges are reduced or the case adjudicated.

Hope, a Seattle police officer, drafted the legislation in direct response to the slaying of the officers. Accused killer Maurice Clemmons had two felony convictions and had been charged with a potential third-strike felony when he bailed out of jail days before the Nov. 29 shootings in the Tacoma suburb of Parkland.

“The suspect in the Lakewood murders had nothing to lose. He knew, if convicted, that he would spend the rest of his life in prison. Letting him out on bail was a huge mistake, and something that we can’t afford to let happen again,” Hope said.

Hope said he has more than 30 co-signers to the legislation that can be pre-filed for the 2010 session starting today. Formal introduction would come Jan. 11.

One of those co-signers is Rep. Mark Ericks, D-Bothell, a former police chief of Bothell.

“There certainly will be plenty of debate on this,” he said. “I’m perfectly willing to see what the public feels about it.”

As a proposed constitutional amendment, it must be passed by at least two-thirds in both the House and Senate and then approved by a majority of voters before it could become law.

Several lawmakers think Clemmons’ release exposes a loophole in the criminal justice process that needs closing. They want to know more about the incident and whether tighter state laws could have made a difference.

Even before Hope announced his plans, Rep. Christopher Hurst, D-Enumclaw, declared he would hold hearings into the Lakewood police shootings in the House public safety committee on which he serves as chairman.

Lawmakers need to understand why Clemmons was walking free and whether his release could have been prevented with different policies and practices by the state, he said.

“This is not acceptable and the Legislature needs to take a look at this. I’m expecting we’ll have a very thorough briefing,” Hurst said. “There may be some easy answers. There may be some very complicated answers.”

Hurst also said his committee will consider Hope’s legislation.

Hope has entitled the legislation The Lakewood Police Officers Memorial Act.

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.