Marion County DA asks Gov. Tina Kotek to revoke commutations of 57 people
Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson said Tuesday night she has asked Gov. Tina Kotek to revoke 57 commutations that former Gov. Kate Brown made for people from the county.
According to the letter Clarkson sent to Kotek, 11 of the 138 people in Marion County who had their sentences commuted by Brown have committed felonies or misdemeanors since their release and an additional 28 are wanted for crimes or violations of their release.
The county attorney's office highlighted convicted felon Thomas Healy in the documents sent to Kotek and the news media. Healy was released from prison Dec. 17, 2020, because he was deemed medically vulnerable. He was charged with murder in the Aug. 27, 2022, shooting death of Scott Tanner Jr. at Geer Park and is being held in the county jail awaiting a March 2023 trial.
Kotek sent a letter to Oregon's 36 districts attorneys in August asking them to contact her office if any individuals who had their sentence commuted had violated the terms of their release “in a manner that warrants revocation of their commutation.”
The governor said in her letter she would review each revocation request based on the facts.
Kotek already has revoked the commutations for at least five people so far this year, according to media reports.
Brown made a historic number of commutations in her final years in office.
She commuted the sentence of about 1,000 prisoners in 2020 who were medically fragile due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Brown commuted the sentences of 41 inmates who helped fight the devastating 2020 Labor Day wildfires.
In November 2022, with just over a month left in her final term, Brown pardoned about 45,000 people who had marijuana convictions, saying it was a racial justice issue. Then in December 2022, she commuted the death sentences of all 17 people on Oregon’s Death Row.
Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Marion County DA asks Gov. Kotek to revoke commutations of 57 people
