Committees:
Law 8: Justice, Chair

 

Olympia Address: Accountability 8: Retorm, Vice Chair
. . Human Serv1ces, Mental

106 Irv Newhouse Building . .
PO Box 40404 Health Housmg
Olympia, YA 98302?06404 State Senate \VZle 8: Means
Phone: 78 "1?7 0 District Office:
FAX: (I (0 786?717. - 11707 E. 21 A .. "t 05
Ton?F143; )1?800?5621000 Senator Add,? Pad-den 31301311211531]: 'wiilggoc
E?mail: Mike.Padclen@leg.wa.gov 4th Legislative District Phone; (509) 921?2460

November 4, 2016

Dick Morgan

Department of Corrections
P.O. Box 41100, Mail Stop 41100
Olympia, WA 98504?1100

Dear Secretary Morgan,

We are writing with concern regarding a recent media report that indicated you have circulated an email
to DOC staff. According to this report, you are concerned that the use of the term ?offender? is a negative
label that stigmatizes inmates within the prison system. You would prefer prisoners to be referred to as
?individuals,? ?students? or other designations, depending upon the particular activity in which they may
be engaged at a given moment. We are concerned about this for a number of reasons:

There was no consultation with the Legislature, to our knowledge, in this decision. Several statutes and
your own department?s policies and procedures clearly designate those within the prison system as

?offenders.? For example, the Legislature de?ned the term ?offender? within 9.94A.03 0, which reads as
follows:

(35) ?Offender? means a person who has committed a felony established by state law and is
eighteen years of age or older or is less than eighteen years of age but whose case is under
superior courtjurisdiction under RCW 13.04.030, or has been transferred by the appropriate
juvenile court to a criminal court pursuant to RCW 13.40.110. In addition, for the purpose of
community custody requirements under this chapter, ?offender? also means a misdemeanant or
gross misdemeanant probationer ordered by a superior com?: to probation pursuant to
RCW 9.92.060, 9.95.204, or 9.95.210 and supervised by the department pursuant to
RCW 9.94A.501 and Throughout this chapter, the terms ?offender? and
?defendant? are used interchangeably.

To abandon the term ?offender? constitutes a policy change made without legislation or legislative
authorization, and arguably it creates legal uncertainties about whether particular provisions continue to
apply to the incarcerated. We would like to know whether any consultation occurred with the attorney

general?s of?ce regarding the legal ramifications of your change in terminology, and what, if anything the
AGO advised.

We believe this decision could place the public safety at risk. A number of DOC employees have
contacted us with concerns that the new terminology will create confusion among prison personnel. Lives
could be endangered by lack of clarity and hesitation as DOC employees attempt to recall the politically
correct designation for the offenders, based on the activity in which they are engaged.

It strikes us as Orwellian that the state would attempt to manipulate the of a population
simply by changing a term by which that population is referred. Did you rely upon any evidence-based
studies indicating the use of the term ?offender? creates a social stigma that is detrimental to the prison
system? If so, please forward those studies to us.

The agency?s focus on this matter is curious in light of the crisis this past year created by its inaccurate
sentencing calculations. That matter, as you may recall, led the Senate to exercise its power of subpoena
in a legislative investigation. The final report of this independent investigation observed that the
department failed to emphasize its primary duty of public safety, as did another inquiry conducted by the
governor?s of?ce. The Department of Corrections is not just another social service agency. As Cicero
once wrote, ?public safety is the highest law.? Your agency?s focus on semantics creates doubt in our
mind that it has learned from its mistakes.

We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
WM: @401 ?ag/W 
Senator Mike Padden Senator Pam Roach Senator Kirk Pearson

 




Senator Ann Rivers Senator Steve O?Ban