INDIANAPOLIS — The shooting death of an Indianapolis police officer, whose suspected killer had been mistakenly released from jail, may slow down efforts by state lawmakers to reform Indiana’s sentencing laws.
Hearings on the legislation, designed to reduce the state prison population, are expected to include criticism from some prosecutors likely to cite the fatal shooting as an example of the bill’s potential flaws. State Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, who introduced the sentencing reform legislation in the Senate, acknowledged the potential for the bill to be delayed or even derailed this session because of the police officer’s death.
He likened the shooting suspect to the “Willie Horton of Indiana,” a reference to a high-profile 1987 case involving a convicted murderer in Massachusetts released on furlough, who later beat and raped a woman.
Steele said there is nothing in the current bill that could have prevented the circumstances that lead to the shooting, but he also likened the bill to “carrying a 2-iron in a lightning storm.”
A hearing on the Senate bill was initially scheduled for today. It’s also the same day as the funeral service for Indianapolis police officer David Moore, 29, who was shot during a traffic stop on Jan. 23.
The hearing was postponed late Monday due to an impending ice storm that was headed toward central Indiana.
The shooting suspect, Thomas Hardy, 60, was mistakenly released on bond in December following an arrest on theft charges. State corrections officials said Hardy’s state parole officer failed to enter Hardy’s parole information into a national database.
The Associated Press reported Hardy has an extensive criminal history dating back to 1984, but was considered “low risk” for re-offending when he was released on parole in October 2009 after serving a 1,000-day sentence for theft.
The current legislation includes proposals that would reduce the number of “low risk” offenders in state prisons and shift them into community-based corrections programs.
The sentencing reform bill has been championed by Gov. Mitch Daniels. It’s based on a lengthy study by the Pew Center on the States’ Public Safety Performance Project and the Council of State Governments Justice Center.
The study found that Indiana’s prison count had grown by 41 percent between 2000 and 2009 — an increase three times that of neighboring states.
Daniels’ spokeswoman Jane Jankowski said the circumstances surrounding Moore’s death should not derail the bill.
“The fact that Hardy was released has nothing to do with the Pew study recommendations for sentencing reform,” Jankowski said.
“Hardy’s release was human error. Unfortunately in this business, there is no tolerance for human error.”
After the fatal shooting, Daniels ordered state corrections officials to conduct an audit of the state’s 10 parole districts, which cover about 10,000 parolees. Jankowski said there were no errors found in nine of the 10 districts. There were nine errors found in a single district that includes the Indianapolis area.
Jankowski said state officials also found that errors had been made by Marion County officials that lead to Hardy’s mistaken release. The governor’s office hasn’t yet discussed details of those errors made by local officials, Jankowski said, out of respect for the slain officer and his family. State Sen. Randy Head, R-Logansport, a former prosecutor who sits on the committee that will hear testimony on the bill, said prosecutors from around the state had voiced concerns about the bill before the fatal shooting.
Head said prosecutors expressed about reform proposals that reduced sentences for some drug crimes. He said prosecutors also want a “truth in sentencing” provision that would reduce the possibility of early release of violent criminals.
Head said the police officers’ death heightened their concerns. He said lawmakers will also take into consideration.
“The witnesses will talk about it,” Head said of the committee hearing. “It will be on everybody’s mind when they decide what amendments [to the bill] to vote on and whenever they vote on the final bill.”
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