Measure 73, which proposed mandatory minimum sentencing of 25 years in prison for “repeat offenders” of sex crimes, passed yesterday. I won’t get into the drunk driving portion of the bill; suffice to say that throwing people in jail is not perhaps the most effective route, but I’m not as concerned with that half of the bill. The bits that got me worked up were the ones that now have a minimum sentence of 300 months in prison awaiting anybody who commits four or more “sex crimes.” The language on the measure is a little vague, but the fact that it comes about at a time when social trends, particularly the advent of “sexting,” have everybody* scrutinizing relevant laws means that jail sentence could come down in some unfortunate circumstances.

The question here is, what counts as repeat offenses? Under Oregon law, a high school senior who just turned 18 dating a freshman who is about to turn 15 will be guilty of a class C felony if the senior has sexual intercourse with the freshman. The case may be a bit fringe and a bit creepy depending on your views, but these things happen with some frequency. Let us say that these two consummated their relationship more than four times, and the senior gets brought up on multiple charges. If the case can be brought against the senior in this way, that person now faces a minimum of 25 years in prison.

Or, let us look at those darn kids and their “sexting” by playing a game of make-believe. I am now a pretty, 16 year-old high school girl** with a boy in mind who I think is nifty-keen. I decide to send him a few racy text messages, maybe snap a few suggestive camera pictures with my phone and enclose them. Now let us say that I decide to send precisely four or more of these pictures. Cases have already arisen where teens face criminal charges for sexting, and if I as a 16 year-old, theoretical high school girl can be brought up on multiple charges then I would face at least 300 months in jail for sexually abusing myself.

People should not be allowed to go a-rapin’ or produce child pornography, and it would be silly to construe opposition to laws like this as anything of the sort. When mandatory minimums are put into place it strips judges of the freedom to adjust sentences based on circumstances. In a borderline statutory rape case a judge could theoretically swing a lighter punishment based on what actually happened, but if a person is technically convicted 4+ times of some sex crime then they have to be sentenced to a big sack of jail time. Does the state of Oregon really need measures like this to ensure that serial rapists get jail time?

*No, I don’t actually mean everybody.
**When I wear the dress, I’m always a pretty 16 year-old girl.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010 at 16:49 by Stephen Murphy and is filed under Government, Oregon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.