Oregon 2005 Legislative Round-Up: Crime Survivors for Community Safety

September 20, 2005

What did the 2005 Oregon Legislature do with proposals connected to survivors of crime and violence? Read about bills connected to the state's definition of murder, rape in prison, support services for crime survivors and other issues of concern for Crime Survivors for Community Safety.Crime Suvivors for Community Safety was tracking a number of bills in this legislature. They are listed in the two tables below.

Priority Bills for Crime Survivors for Community Safety

 

Bill #  What This Bill Proposed  Our Stand  Results 
Custodial sexual misconduct: Senate Bill 89 Makes it a crime for corrections staff to have sexual contact with incarcerated people or people under correctional supervision. This recognizes that since a prisoner/probationer is not in a position to say “no” to sexual advances, they can not give true consent. Oregon was one of only two states that did not have this sort of law. Passed and was signed by the Governor.
We need research to tell us what works: Senate Bill 240 Officially recognizes the Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute at Portland State University. We need facts and research about what criminal justice policies work and at what cost. Passed and signed by Governor.
Personal representative for crime survivors: Senate Bill 198
 Would allow in most circumstances for a survivor of a crime to have a personal representative accompany them as they navigate the criminal justice system. We support all steps to give greater support to crime survivors as they make their way through the system.
 Passed (although it was weakened by amendments that limit when a personal representative can be present) and signed by Governor.
Sexually explicit material connected to a crime cannot be distributed: Senate Bill 199  Prevents the dissemination of evidence of a sexually explicit nature that was used in a court proceeding. This straightforward change would protect the privacy of survivors of crime. Passed and signed by the Governor.
Fatality Review  Teams: Senate Bill 1047 Gives communities the authority to create fatality review teams when a domestic violence homicide has occurred. Fatality Review teams can help us determine how to serve battered women better, possibly preventing future homicides from domestic violence. Passed and signed by the Governor.

 

Redefining Murder in Oregon State Law 

Murder is an emotional and highly political issue. We send our condolences to all murder victims' family members even though we may disagree about the following bills.

Oregon law contains a category of murder known as "Aggravated Murder" in which a person can be sentenced to death. The bills listed below that would "amend the state's definition of murder" are, in effect, expansions of the death penalty.

Bill #  What This Bill Proposed  Our Stand  Results 
Expanding definition of Aggravated Murder: House Bills 3037 and 3492, Senate Bill 712
 Expanding Aggravated Murder to include the murder of a witness in a juvenile court proceeding (HB 3037), the murder of a reserve police officer (HB 3492), or the murder of a pregnant woman (SB 712).    
 Expanding the definition of “Aggravated Murder” literally “ranks” some murder victims above others based on the identity of the victim. We oppose any “ranking” of murder victims for the purposes of prosecution.
 We opposed these bills, which failed to pass.
“Unborn Child” Bills: House Bills 2020 and 2379, Senate Bill 440    
 Would expand criminal homicide to include the murder of an “unborn child”(HB 2379) or recognize an “unborn child” as the victim of a homicide (HB 2020). These bills are attacks on a woman’s right to choose by adding the phrase “unborn child” to Oregon law.
 We opposed these bills, which failed to pass.
Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII, or drunk driving): House Bill 2828 Enabling harsher punishments by expanding the definition of murder to include a death caused by someone with certain previous DUII convictions.    We consistently prioritize drug and alcohol treatment – including treatment in prison – over harsher penalties, which are costly and not proven effective for dealing with drunk driving. We opposed this bill, which failed to pass.