Sen. Raptakis to Re-introduce Murder, Parole Bill

Sen. Leonidas P. Raptakis (D-Dist. 33, Coventry, East Greenwich, West Greenwich) has pre-filed legislation for the 2014 General Assembly session that would require individuals convicted of first or second degree murder who have not been sentenced to a life term to serve at least 50 percent of a sentence prior to being eligible for parole.

“Individuals who commit first or second degree murder should be expected to serve at least the majority of their sentences, although I firmly believe they should be required to complete the full sentence for these kinds of heinous acts,” said Senator Raptakis. “At the very least, they should have to serve no less than half of the sentence, which has not always been the case.”

Identical legislation introduced by Senator Raptakis during the 2013 legislative session was passed by the Senate but not acted upon when it was sent to the House of Representatives and assigned to a House committee. Senator Raptakis said he hopes the bill will again be passed by the Senate in 2014 and “will receive a full and fair hearing this time in the other chamber.”

“This is about truth in sentencing and requiring individuals convicted of a horrible crime to serve a significant amount of time in jail,” he said. “The public expects that those convicted of such a violent crime as murder will pay an appropriate price by serving a significant amount of time behind bars.”

Senator Raptakis said that although he has introduced similar legislation in the past, he was confident it would be enacted last year when it came to light that an individual convicted of murdering a Woonsocket woman in 1999 was granted parole after serving only 15 years of a 35 year sentence.

“How can we talk about being tough on crime when murderers know they will be getting out of prison after serving only a relatively short amount of time, and much less than the sentence they receive? Why pretend we are giving out harsh sentences when we all know, and when the murderers know, they will be getting out in much less time then they have been sentenced to serve?” he asked.

During committee testimony on the bill last session, Senator Raptakis cited another case involving an individual who was released after serving only 18 years of a 40-year term for the 1992 murder of his then-girlfriend. Within a few years of his parole, that individual was taken into custody on charges that he murdered his new girlfriend.

Senator Raptakis also cited the case of an individual who pleaded guilty in 2010 to the first-degree murder of an 83-year-old woman. The plea came 10 years after the individual’s release on parole after serving less than half of a 45-year sentence for a 1982 murder.

“Those instances are clear examples, to me, that we are not exacting the proper punishment for these horrible crimes,” said Senator Raptakis. “We should either stop pretending that our courts are doing out appropriate justice or we should enact this legislation into law and keep murderers in jail longer.”

The 2013 version of the bill was reported out of the Senate Committee on Judiciary on an 8-0 vote and was passed by the full Senate on a vote of 38-0. Subsequently assigned to the House Committee on Judiciary in mid-March, it was never scheduled for a hearing before the General Assembly adjourned for the year in July.