Missouri Bill Increases Mandatory Minimums, Expands Prosecutors’ Role in Juvenile Court
by Michael Dean Thompson
Republican Governor Mike Kehoe of Missouri has signed new legislation (SB 888) that increases the mandatory minimums for prison sentences. The new minimums may fill Missouri prisons as early as July 2029, requiring the construction of a new $825 million maximum security prison. Gov. Kehoe told reporters, “Prisons are expensive, but committing crimes cannot be tolerated. Most Missourians, I think, would agree that you don’t want to be soft on crime because you ran out of room.” According to Gov. Kehoe, “sentencing certainty” is worth the massive extra cost to taxpayers.
SB 888 was rushed through the legislature and onto the governor’s desk, where it was quickly signed. After some debate and negotiation, the bill passed the Senate on March 5, a Thursday. The House committee that received the bill did not meet again until March 9, at which point they promptly passed the bill on to the full house. Most bills are given a week after its first public hearing before receiving a full vote. This bill, however, was voted forward to the governor’s desk just three days later.
Democratic state Rep. David Tyson Smith, who is also a criminal defense attorney, told the Missouri Independent, “It was not properly vetted. It was rushed through. And it’s a major rollback of the criminal justice reform we’ve seen.”
State Department of Corrections regulations had already set minimum percentages that felony offenses were required to serve. Nevertheless, Gov. Kehoe told reporters that the new law makes those minimums clearer and more predictable to law enforcement and victims. “That’s what [sic] you saw so many law enforcement folks here, especially our elected sheriffs, who walk out of the courthouse after a hearing and walk to the county square and aren’t sure how long that person is actually going to serve,” Kehoe said.
Beyond increasing the mandatory minimums, the new law also increased some sentences. Persons convicted of “dangerous felonies” will still be required to serve 85% of their time, though how that time is calculated for those sentenced to Life (with parole) changed. It is now calculated at 30 years. Some sentences have had their statutory minimums increased to 15 years, from ten.
Minimum percentages for even those convicted of minor drug offenses have also increased. Class E felonies, the lightest category, are newly established under this law. For some offenses, the new law stipulates larger percentages for crimes that will require registering as a sex offender upon release as compared to those convicted of a first offense. However, it does not indicate how another sex offense at that level might change.
In addition to the mandatory minimums, the new law reverses a trend in national criminal justice by expanding the role of prosecutors in juvenile cases. It will allow prosecutors to make political decisions about whether a juvenile can be tried as an adult, and increases the visibility of juvenile records across the criminal justice system.
Rep. Smith said, “Now you’re going to have elected officials sticking their nose in a case involving a juvenile, and they’re going to push for certifications just so that [they’re] elected, just so they can say they’re tough on crime.”
Republican state Rep. Brad Christ, who was the bill’s handler in the House, described SB 888 as being about “rehabilitation” and “accountability.” Yet, the law offers no programs to encourage either. Neither word is even mentioned in the bill’s summary.
Additional source: Missouri Independent
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