The Iowa House approved several bills Wednesday that are part of House GOP’s “tough on crime” package introduced earlier in the session, including a measure requiring a 20-year minimum prison sentence for repeat offenders.
House File 2542 was one of the major proposals put forward by House Republicans in January that aims to prevent “career criminals” from committing crimes in Iowa. The bill would create a “three strikes” system for committing certain crimes, in which a person would be subject to a minimum 20-year prison sentence if they accumulate three “points” under the system.
Rep. Steven Holt, R-Denison, the bill’s floor manager, said the measure is a way to ensure people who repeatedly commit lawless actions, showing “they are not willing to be rehabilitated, will be removed from civil society and incarcerated for a minimum of 20 years.”
One “point” would be given for people charged with felonies and aggravated misdemeanors including sexual abuse, domestic abuse assault, assault with intent to inflict a serious injury or the use or display of a deadly weapon, as well as organized retail theft. A half-point would be awarded for all other aggravated misdemeanors, as well as serious misdemeanors including assault and domestic abuse causing bodily injury or mental illness, and criminal mischief in the third degree.
The bill was amended to remove theft, possession of a controlled substance and harassment as crimes adding to the point system. It additionally creates a “20-year lookback,” Holt said, limiting the period of points accumulation to 20 years, and states that if a person faces multiple pending charges for an incident, only the most serious crime will be counted as a “point.” The measure also clarifies the point system would not count any convictions or crimes that occurred before the law’s enactment, and that if a person reaches the threshold for the 20-year prison sentence, their sentence cannot be deferred or suspended.
Holt said this amendment was an agreement reached with the Council of County Attorneys and other concerned parties to address “various implications of this legislation.”
Rep. Ross Wilburn, D-Ames, said he approved of the amendment despite having other problems with the bill. Wilburn introduced an amendment which would require the final strike triggering the 20-year minimum sentence to be a “forcible felony.” The amendment was defeated.
“Look, Iowans want safer communities, women want safer communities, people with disabilities, Black and brown communities want safer communities,” Wilburn said. “But expanding ‘three strike’ laws will intensify disparities … by mandating longer sentences, limiting judicial discretion.”
You can read the full article at the Iowa Capital Dispatch.