Washington may alter stance ending lifetime supervision for highest-risk sex offenders

(The Center Square) - In January during the legislative session, House Committee on Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry Chair Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, introduced House Bill 2178 to allow level two and level three sex offenders to petition to be discharged from lifetime community custody after a certain amount of time.

The bill advanced from Goodman’s committee but ultimately failed to reach the House floor for a vote.

Now, the Sex Offender Policy Board, which recommended allowing a person to end lifetime community custody, is taking another look at whether it’s an idea the board should continue to support.

“The foundational question…that we have to ask is whether or not there should be a change (in state law) at all,” Chair Brad Mayhew said at the board’s Aug. 15 meeting. Mayhew was among those who testified in favor of HB 2178 during its public hearing.

In Washington state, sex offenders are assigned level rankings from one to three, with one being the lowest risk and three being the highest risk to reoffend. Level two and three sex offenders are placed under state supervision known as community custody upon their release from prison.

Washington state is one of the few that permits lifetime community custody for those deemed the greatest risk to reoffend.

Noting their prior recommendations on allowing individuals to end lifetime community custody, Mayhew told colleagues that “we didn't have the time to do the deep dive we've done this time into a lot of the issues that are raised by this proposal, and I think that what we're doing here is a more deliberate process.”

“We also didn't have quite as broad a number of people at the table,” he added. “The recommendation we made perhaps wasn't as fleshed out as it could have been so that brings us back to this, so I guess that first question is ‘Do we make this recommendation or is there evidence to support the continued use of lifetime supervision?’”

If the board continues to the support the idea, a challenge for any potential legislation will be determining the actual provisions. Although the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs was among the entities represented on the board to vote in favor of ending lifetime community custody, it opposed HB 2178 during its public hearing.

Trisha Smith representing the Office of Crime Advocacy told the board at its Aug. 15 meeting that “what I'm hearing from our community…(is) that some of the concerns about the way it was presented was the lack of victim voice in the process and just wanting to better understand some of the assessments and determinations for when folks would come off of lifetime supervision, but there was support in exploring a pathway.”

One question to be answered is how long a convicted sex offender must wait after release before applying to end lifetime community custody. Under HB 2178, it was 10 years for a level two sex offender and 15 years for a level three sex offender.

Mayhew said that “we need to do dynamic risk assessments before somebody can be considered for relief from supervision.”

Another potentially controversial issue is how victims of a sex offender should be informed if and when lifetime community custody is ended. Michael A. O'Connell, Ph.D with the Washington Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers told the board that it’s a “double-edged sword. The notification and input of victims is a really complicated issue.”

“As much as we want to validate and honor the desire of victims, to have their voices heard, we also need to consider the possibility of victims who want to think nothing more about this,” he added. “And that's going be a tough needle to thread.”

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 14.