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Report from Olympia | November 30, 2015
 Kelley Tarp and Heather Oie fight back tears as Angie Dowell testifies about the murder of their family members by Timothy Pauley.
Dear
Friends and Neighbors,
This is the last Report from Olympia you will receive in
2015. Due to election-year restrictions, I am not permitted to send out my
e-newsletter until the 2016 regular legislative session begins on Jan. 11. Even
then, I can only send these updates to those who have specifically requested
them. If you have not done so yet, you can do so by clicking here and filling
out a quick survey.
In this report, you will find an update on the work of the
Senate Law and Justice Committee. On Nov. 20, we heard Congressman Dave
Reichert and several family members of victims about the lack of transparency
and concern by victims demonstrated by some at the Department of Corrections
and the Indeterminate Sentencing Review Board.
Today, the committee is meeting in Federal Way to discuss,
among other issues, property crimes, the impact of flash mob thefts on our
small business retailers and other public safety matters.
It has been a busy year for the committee, and a productive
one for the Legislature. We accomplished quite a bit – from a no-new-taxes
operating budget to a historic cut in college tuition. Still, there is much
work left to be done – toughening our DUI felony laws high among them. Mothers
Against Drunk Driving recently honored me with a recognition for our efforts in
the Senate this year, but it is my hope to see those efforts matched by the
House and the governor in 2016.
If there is anything I can do for you, or if you have
questions about anything in this e-newsletter, please give me a call, send me
an e-mail or stop by our district office. It will continued to be staffed
throughout December.
Thank you, as always, for the honor of serving as your state
senator.
Best Regards,
Senator
Mike Padden
Mothers
Against Drunk Driving recently honored me with its “Legislator of the Year”
award for leading Washington’s continuing effort to toughen laws against
driving under the influence. It is an honor to be sure, but one prompted by a
crime as senseless as it is preventable.
Driving under
the influence is one of our society’s leading sources of trauma and heartbreak.
Strengthening our felony DUI law seems an obvious step.
Last session,
I sponsored a measure that would make a 4th DUI offense a felony. Currently
Washington requires five DUI convictions during a 10-year period to qualify a
repeat offender for a prison term. Though the Senate passed SB 5105 unanimously
on three occasions, the bill did not come up for a final floor vote in the
House.
Of the 46
states that allow for felony DUI convictions, Washington’s law is the weakest.
The failure of the bill last session was a disappointment. Let us hope House
leaders recognize the importance of this issue when we return in January for
the 2016 legislative session.
Last week the Senate Law and Justice Committee conducted a work
session focused on criminal-justice process issues related to two
high-profile murder cases. The first involved Gary Ridgway, the “Green River
Killer,” who preyed on women in King County for some 20 years. The committee
also examined a decision by the state Indeterminate Sentencing Review Board,
which could lead to the early release of confessed murderer Timothy Pauley.
Earlier this year it was revealed that Ridgway had been
secretly transferred to a prison in Colorado by the state Department of
Corrections to continue serving the life sentence he received in 2003. Family
members of Ridgway’s victims were not notified or consulted.
Although the Department of Corrections reversed its decision
after complaints from families and law enforcement, questions remain as to why
Ridgway was moved out-of-state in the first place.
Originally the Department of Corrections said Ridgway was
moved to give him more opportunities to socialize in prison. Congressman Dave
Reichert (pictured right), the lead King County detective in the investigation
that resulted in Ridgway’s arrest in 2001, told the committee the decision was
heartless.
But at the hearing, Dan Pacholke, who was appointed
Department of Corrections secretary after the story broke, claimed the move was
due to security concerns. He said prison guards feared for their safety.
Under questioning, Pacholke admitted that the round-trip
move cost taxpayers approximately $40,000.
Although the Ridgway testimony generated most of the headlines
from the hearing, the testimony we heard on the Pauley murders was equally
dramatic. Pauley committed a heinous attack on five people during a 1980
robbery of the Barn Door Tavern in SeaTac. Three of his victims were killed and
one, a 30-year-old woman, was raped and left for dead, hanging by her neck in a
restroom.
Pauley was sentenced to three life terms in prison. Yet he
now could be freed in about a year and a half, thanks to a decision by the
Sentencing Review Board.
The families of Pauley’s victims shared with the committee
their dismay with the Sentencing Review Board’s processes. In painful detail,
the victims described how difficult it was for them to learn details about
Pauley’s attempts to reduce his sentence. They called the Review Board
unresponsive to the concerns of victims and their families.
A letter written by Pauley to his brother in 2012 also ought
to cast doubt on the idea that he poses no continuing danger. The letter
contained much language that appeared to threaten prison staff. At one point,
he remarked, “When the young guys walk around ranting about how they all need
to be killed, I really can’t argue with them… I can’t say that I’d shed a tear
for most of them if it ever went that way.” At that point, just three years
ago, the review board stated it could not “help but wonder as to the sincerity
of his accomplishments” in prison.
In addition to addressing these concerns, the
committee also discussed a number of other important issues including access to
digital assets, the establishment of an office of superior court judges, and school
warrantless-search exceptions.
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News Tribune Editorial
KIRO-TV (Seattle)
KOMO News (Seattle)
Finally, let us make note of the terrible
windstorm that struck Nov. 17 and the long, chilly wait many Spokane County
residents endured as they waited for power to be restored. It was the worst
weather event for the area since the icestorm of ’96, and there are many who
argue it surpassed even that. Let us recognize the work of the emergency
workers and utility crews who worked so hard for so long to clear downed trees
and restore electricity. And let us hope that is the end of it for the season.
For windstorm recovery information and resources,
including shelter and warming centers and more, call 1-866-904-9060, or go to www.spokanevalley.org and select the “news” link.
If you have already replied to this survey, you have
my thanks. If not, please click the image below to continue receiving my
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