Pubdate: Wed, 12 May 2004
Source: Sioux City Journal (IA)
Copyright: 2004 Sioux City Journal
Contact:  http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/945
Author: Charlotte Eby, Des Moines Bureau
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)

GOVERNOR WANTS REVIEW OF SENTENCING GUIDELINES 

DES MOINES -- Gov. Tom Vilsack said Tuesday it is time for the state
to review its sentencing laws, a day after an Iowa judge criticized
the state's mandatory sentencing laws in a high-profile murder case.

District Judge Charles Smith called the laws "wrong" after mandatory
sentencing rules required him to sentence Dixie Shanahan of Defiance
to 50 years in prison for shooting to death her abusive husband.
Shanahan testified she shot her husband after he threatened to kill
her and her unborn child.

A jury convicted Shanahan of second-degree murder, and under Iowa law,
the 36-year-old Shanahan must serve 35 years of her sentence before
she is eligible for parole.

Although Vilsack would not comment specifically on the Shanahan case,
he said it's time for lawmakers to put politics aside and reconsider
some of the state's mandatory sentences.

Recent efforts by the Iowa Legislature to overhaul sentencing laws
have failed because lawmakers were afraid they would appear soft on
crime, Vilsack said.

Lawmakers need to find a balance between holding people accountable
and finding sentences that make sense, he said.

"My hope would be that legislative leaders would in the next
legislative session, basically make a pact, an agreement if you will,
that this becomes a bipartisan effort to make sense out of sentencing
rules and if there needs to be changes, those changes should be made,"
Vilsack said.

The governor declined to talk about whether the punishment handed down
in Shanahan's case fit the crime, saying he may have to consider a
request from Shanahan for a pardon or commutation of her sentence.

Vilsack, a Democrat, said he supports mandatory minimum sentences in
some cases for crimes against people, but in other instances, such as
drug offenses, he's not certain.

"There's been a lot of discussion about how effective those are,"
Vilsack said.

He signed legislation Tuesday that would make it easier for offenders
in prison on forcible felonies to become eligible for parole after
serving 70 percent of their sentence rather than 85 percent.

The legislation also orders a study of the state's sentencing laws and
procedures, with a special emphasis on the punishments in drug cases.

House Majority Chuck Gipp, R-Decorah, said the idea of sentencing
reform is not dead in the Legislature.

Iowa began adopting mandatory minimums because victims and their
families were outraged that offenders were getting off with light
sentences or serving only a fraction of their terms, Gipp said.

"Legislators in the past have simply responded to the public's need to
be protected from dangerous criminals," Gipp said.

But he said the pendulum of public opinion is now swinging back,
especially in light of the Shanahan case.

"I think that the Legislature will once again look at this, and this
may be the case that causes that to happen," Gipp said.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin