Once the Washington Staff Assault Task Force TM had
several successful civil judgments under our belt,
we started to collect funds from offenders by
garnishing their General Bank Accounts. These are
the monies that are used by inmates to purchase
creature comforts like store, tennis shoes, and
televisions.
But, the process of collection was
labor-intensive, and very expensive. So, the Task
Force came up with the idea of having a law passed
through the Legislature that would treat civil
judgments for assaults on staff just like LFO's
(Legal Financial Obligations.)
With WSATF’s
Attorney Brandon Johnson, a bill was drafted that
“piggybacked” a current law that was already in
effect for the collection of LFOs and
child-support.
In October of 2009, we took the idea to Olympia,
and presented it to Senator Mike Hewitt from Walla
Walla. The bill, originally deemed House Bill
3008, was introduced into the Washington House of
Representatives for consideration by State
Representative Terry Nealy who commented:
“Inmates are compensated for working
within the prison walls, but they don't make
very much money. The officers from Walla Walla
told me that other states which have used this
law have found it very effective as a deterrent
against inmate assaults on prison guards. It
takes away privileges of what their small amount
of money can buy. I think this measure will help
us curb assaults against officers.”
Once the iron was struck, the WSATF went to
work spreading the word. Volunteers went into the
field to hand out flyers in support of the bill,
press interviews were conducted, and phone calls
were made.
We have been told that it usually takes several
years for a bill to become a law. In this case, it
did not. Due to the unfortunate timing of
Correctional Officer Jayme Biendl’s tragic murder
by the hands of an inmate at Monroe Correctional
Complex, the immediate need for this law was
recognized.
The WSATF went to the Senate Chambers within days
of Jayme’s murder with five officers from
throughout the state who had been assaulted by
inmates, and had their day in court. Each
assaulted staff member shared their experiences of
having their day in court. One officer still wore
a sling from a recent shoulder surgery.
We knew that the law was most likely going to be
passed when the Senate committee broke into
spontaneous applause. House Bill 1334, a law
written and passed to hold it inmates accountable
for their actions, was signed into law on May 5th,
2011by the Governor.
Click here to
read the law
Washington (WSATF) California (CSATF) and National
Staff Assault Task Force (NSATF) Representatives
witness the signing of House Bill 1334 into law by
Governor Christine Gregoire. L-R Darren Kelly,
Bob Maroon (CSATF), Attorney Brandon Kelly (Walla
Walla), Charles Hughes (NSATF), Robert Davis (CSATF),
George Robles (CSATF), and Keith Rapp (WSATF)
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