Nevada lawmakers look to stop unneeded worry for crime victims

A pending bill forces men and women sentenced to multiple terms to serve the longest sentence first -- so that their victims don't get unnecessarily worried about early paroles.

AB102, discussed Monday in the Assembly Judiciary Committee, is designed to help victims or their families, who are notified when an assailant comes up for parole -- even paroles from one sentence to another.

Judiciary members were told the bill would help some victims who don't understand the process and worry that the person they thought was going to spend much more time in prison will be paroled early.

By forcing criminals to serve the longest term first, the bill would lengthen the time before their first parole hearing.

While the intent of the bill is clear, its implementation is cloudy.

Glen Whorton, assistant director of operations for Nevada's prison system, told lawmakers the bill incorrectly assumes people receive all their sentences at the same time.

He said people can get consecutive sentences years apart and from different courts, which would make the implementation of the plan difficult.

Legislators agreed that sending out parole notices when the inmate has no chance of being released is a bad policy. Not everyone, though, was convinced AB102 was the correct way to address the problem.

Assemblyman Harry Mortenson, D-Las Vegas, suggested that judges remove the possibility of parole for an inmate's first sentence. Whorton said that would be a massive policy change and wouldn't take a stand on the issue.

Judiciary members also considered AB95, enabling judges to sentence people to prison if they fail in the state's drug courts. Under current law, judges can only impose probation if a person fails the drug court program.

Proponents hope the bill would force people to take the drug court program more seriously because the threat of prison time would still exist.

Assemblyman William Horne, D-Las Vegas, said he was worried that one violation of the drug court program could land someone in prison.

"I'm concerned that this will stifle the program, actually," Horne said.

The committee didn't act on either AB95 or AB102, but did pass AB105, which allows parolees to earn good-time credit while on the street.

The proposal grants 10 days of credit for each month people are in compliance with their parole requirements. The parolees must also be up to date in payment of fees to defray the costs of state supervision, as well as any restitution payment ordered by the court.

Proponents of the bill say the measure would encourage inmates to behave properly while on parole, and encourage them to make their required payments.