(The Center Square) – A felony offense today may only amount to internal discipline tomorrow after Senate Democrats passed a bill on Tuesday that prohibits the state from charging juveniles with prison riot crimes.
State law currently allows law enforcement to charge underage inmates with a felony when at least two individuals get into a fight. While some states require at least three parties for felony rioting charges, House Bill 1815 goes further — eliminating the charge entirely for juvenile facilities.
Tuesday’s party-line vote pushed HB 1815 closer to becoming law. House Democrats voted similarly last month, with every Republican voting against the bill that they say robs inmates of accountability, with most of the costs falling on Lewis County.
“We dealt with this legislative body when we removed the right for police to pursue, and we saw what happened: crime increased,” Sen. Leonard Christian, R-Spokane Valley, said Tuesday. “This is sending a message that it’s okay to riot in the prison because [you won’t] be charged.”
Christian referenced a February incident where several teens barricaded themselves in a room and took a staff member hostage. He agreed that innocent bystanders could have fallen victim to the statute over the years but offered an amendment he deemed a compromise.
While Democrats rejected his proposal, his amendment would have raised the threshold to at least four parties to charge for rioting. Sen. Claire Wilson, D-Auburn, called it “too broad” and pointed to other felonies that prosecutors could already charge, like assault.
“Prosecutors already have ample tools that are more specific to individual behavior, which is what we really need to be looking at,” Wilson said. “But some of the provisions of the amendment are so broad they don’t improve the current situation at all.”
The Senate adopted two amendments: one limiting retroactivity to five years, the other adding an emergency clause.
The proposal also allows people to apply to the Department of Children, Youth & Families, or DCYF, to clear the offense from their record. If the state used it to impose a longer sentence, the inmate is entitled to resentencing, which puts pressure on the counties hosting these facilities.
“The current law as it is, is harsh, and I agree it should be changed,” Senate Minority Leader John Braun argued, “but the idea that we go from a wrong, perhaps overly stringent rule, to no rules at all, seems wrong-headed. This is, while not perfect, a step in the right direction.”
Braun, representing Lewis County, home to one of the most scrutinized DCYF facilities, asked Democrats to reconsider Christian’s amendment. According to a fiscal note, the retroactivity would apply to at least 94 convictions there, costing the county over $90,000.
While the bill intends to stop little fights from escalating to felonies, Braun argued that riots are still a reality. He blamed his peers for passing the “JR to 25” program, which allows inmates sentenced as adults for crimes committed as minors to go to juvenile facilities until they turn 25.
“Here’s the reality at the Green Hill School: it’s a dangerous place right now,” Braun said. “It’s a dangerous place for students. It’s a dangerous place for staff, and it’s dangerous because the legislature did that. We created the JR-25 system without thinking through all the implications.”
Because of the Senate’s amendments to the bill, it will go back to the House of Representatives to weigh in on those changes. Once both chambers agree on the legislation, it will be sent to Gov. Bob Ferguson for his signature.
