‘Without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence’ is ‘misstatement’
Caddo Parish Sheriff Steve Prator is a frustrated law enforcement official who feels that it is far too easy for lawbreakers to get out of jail before their sentences are up.
There has been much discussion — and debate — about the recent decision by Caddo District Attorney James Stewart Jr. not to seek the death penalty in the case of Dewayne Watkins, who will go on trial in October for the murders of Kelly and Heather Jose. The good Samaritan couple gave Watkins a ride in November 2018, but he killed them and burned their car with their bodies inside after a standoff with police. Family members of the victims are at odds
Family members of the victims are at odds about Watkins’ eventual fate. One is actively asking that Watkins receive the death penalty, while another is against that. DA Stewart, caught in the middle, acknowledged that whatever decision he makes, he will satisfy one family but anger another.
Sheriff Prator goes even further in the debate. He claims that Watkins shouldn’t have even been loose on the streets at the time the crime was committed.
“In Louisiana, there really is no such thing as getting a sentence and having it without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence,” he said. “That’s how they’re sentenced, but I have tried and tried to get the public to understand that it’s not true.” He cited a recent example. On Feb. 2, a
He cited a recent example. On Feb. 2, a woman was shot in the face and neck by two men, ages 21 and 22, who together had been arrested and charged for a total of 35 crimes. In 2018 both were given six years without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence for felon in possession of a firearm. Yet both were out of jail less than three years later.
“That is a common occurrence that is so maddening to me,” he said. “The reason they were out early is because of justice reinvestment,” a bill that passed in 2017.
In the Watkins case, he has been arrested more than 20 times. In 2009, Watkins was sentenced to 10 years in jail without benefit o f parole, probation or suspension of sentence.
In 2014, Watkins was already out of jail and charged with sexually abusing two juveniles, ages 10 and 13. “So he’s supposed to be in jail for 10 years, and the judge’s order said ‘without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.’ But he doesn’t serve his 10 years; he gets out. He sexually abuses those kids, then he gets put back in on a reduced charge while on parole. He gets out again, and then in 2018 he murders Kelly and Heather (Jose). So he should have still been in jail if it was truly without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence. He should have still been in jail and not had a chance to sexually abuse those two kids or murder Kelly and Heather.”
Prator said that phrase, “without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence,” is “a misstatement.”
In Louisiana, he said, “that means nothing. It means absolutely nothing. … They do not stay in jail for all of those years.”
To put things into perspective, what is the usual procedure by which an inmate can expect to be released early? “When you get sentenced, you automatically -- depending on your crime -- you automatically get up to 65 percent of your sentence erased,” Prator said. “Then you can take courses and get up to a year off, and then you can go through a re-entry program and get more months off. There’s all sorts of ways to reduce your sentence, even if the judge said ‘without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.’
“That doesn’t mean you get out early, so when people hear that, rest assured, that it is not true. That is not true.”
Prator said, “Until illegally possessing a gun is taken seriously, we will continue to have gun violence.
“What’s aggravating is that people talk about we need gun control. What we need is accountability for persons that illegally possess firearms. Let’s get that straight first. We don’t even do that.”
So how did all of this leniency toward criminals come about? “The state legislature continues to reduce and reduce and reduce even violent crime sentences, and then a person has the opportunity to plead to lesser charges and reduced charges and charges to dismiss, and when they are finally found guilty of something, then they get out early.
“We need justice reform. We need justice where dangerous people are kept in jail and simple drug offenders get the help that they need. But right now, what the state of Louisiana is doing is letting everybody out,” he said.
Over the years, there have been court cases and rulings designed for better treatment of incarcerated inmates, so much so that the victims appear to have been forgotten. Is there any way that this disparity can be rectified?
“I will never give up trying to rectify what has occurred, and you are right. The victims are forgotten, the criminals are treated like the victims, and law enforcement is suddenly the bad guy, and that is so wrong,” Prator said. “The victims continue to be victimized by a system that has missed the mark and has failed them.”
That seems ironic, considering that there is a Victims Awareness Week established for the victims of violent crimes. “The vast majority of the media that we encounter now,” Prator said, “cares nothing about the victim. If they did, they would seek more justice.”
Are there any steps that law enforcement can take to steer justice in the right direction? “I tried this last legislative session, had a bill introduced and testified to make felon in possession of a firearm a violent crime, where you couldn’t automatically get out,” he said. “Instead, the legislature has cut the penalty for felon in possession of a firearm by what it was when Mr. Watkins was charged. So Mr. Watkins was charged and automatically got 10 years, but he didn’t serve but five.
“Now, the penalty (is) you would automatically get five years and serve two, like these two people that just got out and shot this woman in the neck.”
The sheriff said, “Until the public starts screaming like I do and says, ’Legislature, you’re not going to go down there and just in the interest of money let dangerous, violent people out of jail’ — which is what they are doing.”
It is said that the squeaky wheel gets the oil, but, Prator said, “I haven’t felt much oil, but I’m going to continue to be the squeaky wheel, and I don’t care who I make mad. I don’t care who gets mad at me for telling the truth. But it’s time that the truth was told, and the truth is so easy to prove when the judge said, ‘10 years without benefit of parole, probation or suspension of sentence’ and you’re out in five.”
That is false, he said. People are getting out of jail and committing more violent crimes because they are not being held accountable.
THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE March 12 ISSUE OF FOCUS SB - THE INQUISITOR.