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Minnesota sentencing commission rekindles debate on repeat offender policy change

The Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission on Thursday, July 21, held a roundtable to discuss a proposal to eliminate a point that can be counted against an offender in custody or on probation.

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Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission Chair Kelly Lyn Mitchell, left, and Minnesota Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell, right, on January 13, 2022, voted to postpone a re-write of the state's guidelines for sentencing a person charged with an offense while in custody or on probation.
Dana Ferguson / Forum News Service

ST. PAUL — After facing extensive public blowback last year, the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission on Thursday, July 21, again considered a proposal to reduce criminal sentences for those who commit a crime while in custody, on probation or supervised release.

The group delayed a vote on the proposal earlier this year. And on Thursday, members met with stakeholders from various areas of the criminal justice field to decide whether the policy was worth considering.

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While a majority of members on the panel voiced support for the change, commission leaders suggested that they would look for alternatives ahead of their next meeting. Several members said they would like to weigh a compromise that kept the point but changed the situations in which it's applied.

“I think we have the germs of things we can talk about next week and I hope we can have a good conversation then,” Commission Chair Kelly Lyn Mitchell said.

Minnesota judges use a point system to decide a person's criminal history score and that score — along with their conviction — determines the guideline for a sentence. Under current law, a person gets an additional half-point added to that criminal history score if they commit an offense while in jail, on probation or under supervision.

And that extra half-point could bump up their score and lengthen their sentence.

Supporters, including defense attorneys, clergy and those who've experienced the criminal justice system, said the custody point often impacts those who commit low-level drug and property crimes. And they said it can tack on additional penalties that aren't warranted.

“It just feels like the person is being punished several times over,” said Catherine Middlebrook, chief appellate public defender.

Police and sheriffs organizations, county attorneys and crime victims have said dropping the point could allow offenders to reenter the community and commit additional crimes.

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“The problem I have is if you eliminate the custody status point, you are reducing sentences by all but two statuses on the grid,” Appeals Court Judge Michelle Larkin said.

Several members of the public called into the public meeting on Thursday to voice their concerns about the proposal. They said that eliminating the custody point could send a message to criminal offenders that there won't be serious repercussions if they commit another offense while on probation.,

The commission is scheduled to meet again next Thursday, July 28 in St. Paul. Members of the public can also watch the meeting and offer testimony virtually.

Follow Dana Ferguson on Twitter  , call 651-290-0707 or email  dferguson@forumcomm.com.

Dana Ferguson is a former Minnesota Capitol Correspondent for Forum News Service. Ferguson has covered state government and political stories since she joined the news service in 2018, reporting on the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the divided Statehouse and the 2020 election. She now works for MPR News.
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