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Dear Editor:
Former President Reagan once said, “For too long, the victims of crime have been the forgotten persons of our criminal justice system.” If you are a crime victim in Illinois, we can now paraphrase President Reagan’s quote and say, For too long, the victims of crime have been the forgotten persons of our Illinois Legislature.
By seeking to change the length of time served for those presently incarcerated, Illinois House Bill 5219 denigrates our judicial system, and all the judges who presided over the thousands of cases. If there was a trial, the judge carefully weighed the facts as it relates to the rule of law as well as the presentencing report before sentencing the offending party. If there was a negotiated plea agreement, the offending party agreed to the terms of the plea agreement and the judge was provided with a presentencing report before ruling on the agreement. I do not understand why the Illinois legislative branch feels the need to change the sentences on cases already ruled on by the judicial branch.
[ Read more: Proposed Illinois law would cut all prison sentences in half: ‘Fair’ or ‘outrageous’? ]
Does House Bill 5219 violate Illinois Rights of Crime Victims and Witnesses Act? The act says the safety of the victim and the victim’s family will be considered in setting conditions of release after arrest and conviction. If so, shouldn’t the victims and their families be considered before our legislators effectively start reducing the sentences of all prisoners?
J. Gorski