Rally To Reform Measure 11 February 20, 2016
Posted by FairSentencing in : Current News , 10 commentsWhen Oregon voters passed Measure 11 in 1994, it established mandatory minimum prison sentences for specific crimes against people.
Now, after more than 20 years, those mandatory minimum sentences are being given a second look, and a rally to reform Measure 11 took place in Salem on Friday.
One group at the rally said they “want judges to decide prison sentences, not the DAs.” Others held signs with messages: “Give 1st Time Offenders a Fair Chance” and “Time does not fit the crime”.
Opponents of Measure 11
Among those urging reform at the state capitol Friday was Christine VanOrder, who was just 19 when she was sentenced to the mandatory minimum of just under 6 years for a 2nd-degree robbery.
The fact she was a first-time offender wasn’t taken into consideration under Measure 11’s rules.
VanOrder now is running for a state House of Representatives seat to try and change the system.
“I don’t think my criminal history will inhibit me so much as give me the kind of perspective needed to really get some meaningful criminal justice reform going,” she said. She’s running for a seat in District 40, representing Gladstone, Oregon City, Milwaukie and parts of Clackamas.
Barbara Dickerson and Patty Youngblood are co-founders of Time Does Not Fit The Crime. Youngblood said the goal of the reform movement is to give first-offenders a chance.
Her son is doing 11 years for his crime.
“Oregon is now a ‘One strike and you’re out’ state and we used to be ‘Three strikes and you’re out,’” she told KOIN 6 News. “There are a lot of first-time offenders in there and not even for a criminal or violent act.”
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