Washington State Dems propose plan to make it easier for ‘worst of the worst’ sex offenders to re-enter society

A new bill proposed in the Washington state legislature would allow level 3 sex offenders, despite acknowledging that the predators are at a high risk of sexually reoffending, to be eligible for discharge from community custody 15 years after their release if they have not committed a "disqualifying event."

According to a nonpartisan analysis of the bill, the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board (ISRB), a "quasi-judicial board established in the Department of Corrections (DOC)," must review the individual's file to determine if the individual qualifies for release from community custody and hold a review hearing at least 120 days before the end of the presumed community custody period.”

The proposed legislation also modifies the maximum term of community custody that a court may impose for an individual with a Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative sentence.

The bill similarly charts an easier path back into society for level 1 and level 2 offenders.

Last year, Washingtonians slammed Democrats for releasing level 3 sex offenders from McNeil Island to be resettled into residential neighborhoods in halfway homes operated by private companies.

The Community Protection Act originally designated McNeil Island a first-of-its-kind civil commitment center in the 1980s for those who were deemed a continuing threat to the community. After completing their prison sentences they were civilly committed to McNeil Island.

The Democratic-controlled Legislature passed a bill in 2021 amending state law to make it easier to equally distribute conditionally released sexually violent predators from McNeil in counties across the state.

Last year, Democratic Governor Jay Inslee, Democrat Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Bob Ferguson, and other progressive politicians began working with the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) and the Department of Corrections (DOC) to execute the 2021 legislation to depopulate McNeil and release the pedophiles into residential neighborhoods without informing residents.

Last May, Inslee vetoed parts of a bill that would have required tribes and communities to receive advance notice if a sexually violent predator is relocated into their neighborhoods.

One of the sponsors of the bill is Democratic Rep. Tarra Simmons, a former convict who has previously worked to restore voting rights to convicted felons and to reduce penalties for drive-by shootings to promote "racial equity," even as the state has grappled with a spike in crime and record homicides.

Simmons also pre-filed legislation to give judges clemency powers so they could unilaterally decide to reduce sentences for violent offenders years later, even if the facts of a case have not changed.

Simmons is co-sponsoring a bill that would allow misdemeanors to be dismissed, including assault, stalking, assault with sexual motivation, firearms offenses, and more. The bill has been strongly opposed by Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison, who claimed it will "undermine the criminal justice system and our accountability we are trying to build within it,” noting “there is nothing that would stop a court from allowing a serious assault case to be dismissed after the defendant performed a paltry 10 hours of community service."