News Releases for June 2004
June 16, 2004
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Governor's Task Force On Violent And Sexual Offenders Proposes Tougher Sentences, Supervised Probation
BISMARCK, N.D. - Gov. John Hoeven and his Task Force on Violent and Sexual Offenders today proposed legislation to help strengthen North Dakota's criminal code. Major provisions of the new law would include:
- Strengthened sentencing:
- Mandatory life without the possibility of parole for the most heinous gross sexual imposition cases resulting in death.
- Twenty years to life for offenses that involve serious bodily injury; force or threats; a victim under the age of 15; or a habitually abused minor.
- The strongest civil commitment provisions in the nation, including more referrals for both inpatient and community commitment.
- Increased supervision of sex offenders, including mandatory five year supervised probation and GPS monitoring.
- Enforcement of North Dakota's tougher standards not only on offenders convicted in North Dakota, but also those who relocate here from other states.
"Early in this process, it became clear that we needed to close the gap between prison, on one hand, and inpatient civil commitment on the other," Hoeven said. "In addition to imposing stiffer sentences for the most violent offenders, we need to impose supervised probation and community commitment for those in between to make sure our citizens are safe."
For six months, Hoeven and task force members have held meetings across the state in Fargo, Bismarck, Minot, Dickinson and Williston. They have been examining the state's existing laws and practices regarding sexual and violent offenders and discussing enhancements to North Dakota's legal system based on the following areas:
- Structuring sentencing laws and practices - including mandatory sentencing, lengths of sentences, and probation components - to ensure the public's safety.
- Reviewing probation and parole policies and practices to provide maximum supervision of sexual and violent offenders.
- Ensuring that North Dakota's civil commitment laws, practices and risk assessment standards are the strongest in the country.
- Monitoring and supervising offenders electronically to strengthen safety measures.
In January, Hoeven established the Task Force on Violent and Sexual Offenders to review North Dakota's laws and safety measures regarding sexual and violent offenders. The task force includes legislators, judges, law enforcement and corrections officials, as well as representatives from the state hospital, victims rights groups and the public.
"Our task force includes experts from all areas of the criminal justice system," Hoeven said. "We will now take this package of strong measures forward and implement them. North Dakota is a community, and we need to do all we can to keep our citizens safe."
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