FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 5, 208

Contact: Rep. Joe Patton: 785/273-4330

TOPEKA - A group of Kansas Representatives today announced legislation (HB 2731, 2732 and 2733) designed to reform the state’s sentencing guidelines.

The legislation is a result of a series of community meetings hosted by Representative Joe Patton this past summer. “The current sentencing guidelines have allowed criminals to walk the street, to prey on the poor, the weak, the innocent and the elderly, and it’s time we did something about it,” Rep. Patton said.

Currently under Kansas law, judges may depart from the guidelines set forth by the Legislature down to and including probation even for serious crimes. The new bill, HB 2732 would limit departures for the most serious crimes, or for those with the most serious criminal history. It would allow departures only for the reasons expressly stated in the law. The bill would not allow probation for crimes of extreme sexual violence and would not allow departures at all for such crimes without the agreement of the prosecutor.

In addition, HB 2733 would apply when an offender commits a felony while already under state supervision for a previous felony. This would ensure imprisonment for any offender that commits a felony while on felony probation.

The final measure, HB 2731would establish a more comprehensive pre-sentence report to assist judges in making better informed decisions when granting departures.

In the Community meetings this past summer citizens expressed alarm over the disposition of certain cases including the following: 

• Orlando Paul Cisneros, a 38-year-old Topeka man convicted by a jury of 17 counts of raping and sodomizing a 14-year-old girl, was granted only a three-year probation. He later had his probation revoked, after a public outcry.

• Probation was granted to Nicholas Lee Crites after he was convicted of aggravated indecent liberties against a 15-year-old girl. Sentencing guidelines called for a prison term of nearly five years.

• Federico Mendoza, a 34-year-old man convicted of electronic solicitation of a child; Mendoza was only granted a three-year probation term.

Representatives Virginia Beamer (R-Oakley), Elaine Bowers (R-Concordia), Richard Carlson (R- St. Marys), Don Dahl (R- Hillsboro), Rocky Fund (R-Hoyt), Kasha Kelley (R-Arkansas City), Dick Kelsey (R-Goddard), Lance Kinzer (R-Olathe), Judy Morrision (R-Shawnee), Rob Olson (R-Olathe), Marc Rhoades (R-Newton), Arlen Siegfreid (R-Olathe), Jene Vickrey (R-Louisburg), Jason Watkins (R-Wichita), also have sponsored the bills.

Rep. Patton represents Topeka’s 54th district, covering southwest Topeka and Shawnee County. He serves on the Health and Human Services, and Judiciary committees as well as the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and Regulations.

 -30-