KIRKSVILLE, MISSOURI -- There have been some changes made to the sentencing guidelines, and Adair County Prosecutor Matt Wilson says they are now more "prosecutor-friendly."
"What we found was that there [are] disproportionate sentences being handed out, so the prosecutors were concerned because there was a lot of things where it was presumptive, or it wasn't taken into account the effect it was having on our communities and our victims," said Wilson.
The Missouri Sentencing Advisory Commission voted in September 2010 to make the changes, due to concerns that the recommended sentences do not always fit the circumstances of the offense.
"I know the prosecutors; they had a representative from the Judicial Branch, Judge Oxenhandler, from Boone County; Jim McConnell, from the prosecutor's office in Shelby County; and then a member of the Missouri Public Defendor's Office," said Wilson. "They all kind-of came together and, really, they've made it more prosecutor-friendly."
The first change: In relation to sex or child abuse, all violent, class A felonies, and class A, B and unclassified felonies will receive an "aggravating" sentence.
The second change: All felonies, pleas, or finding of guilt, will be "aggravating" circumstances in relation to other offenses being sentenced at the same time.
The third change: The name of the mid-range recommended sentence will be changed to "typical," rather than "presumptive." The Sentencing Advisory Committee's Periodic Bulletin said "presumptive" gives the impression that it was prescribed to that particular person, rather than an average-statewide offense, which is what it is.
The fourth change will take place when the new Missouri Computer Integrated System is completed. When more than one plea or 'finding of guilt' for separate offenses is being sentenced at the same time, the Sentencing Assessment Report (SAR) will list recommended sentences for each felony, and then it will be up to the Judge to decide if those sentences are run concurrently or consecutively.
The last change is another change in wording. The change will occur in the conclusion section of SAR, which describes cases in which the sex-offender-risk-score can be used as a mitigating or aggravating condition for the offender's recommended sentence. Current wording suggests the risk-assessment takes precedence over other aggravating or mitigating conditions, such as violence at the time of arrest. For example, although a person receives a good score on their risk-assessment, that should not outweigh other conditions, such as the fact that they were on probation when they committed the offense.
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