Governor Brown’s move to commute sentences of serious offenders the wrong decision for Oregon
SALEM, OR, USA, (November 9, 2021)-On October 20, 2021, Governor Brown (D) commuted the prison sentences for approximately seventy-five offenders. District attorneys, victims, and their families learned of this decision from media reports.
Oregon’s Marion County District Attorney Paige Clarkson said that the Governor had betrayed public safety promises.
In a public statement, she wrote, “The Governor’s failure to notify victims prior to her granting these offenders clemency is appalling. She further did not even notify the 36 District Attorneys across our state so that our offices could do that work for her. Instead, the Governor notified the press, and victims learned that their offender is now eligible for release along with the rest of the state by reading a news article in The Oregonian.”
Dr. Bud Pierce, Republican candidate for Governor, agrees with Clarkson.
“The rushed commutation of those who have committed crimes is an insult to us all. We seek a just and fair society, with consequences for misdeeds.”
The offenders are juveniles serving adult sentences. Of the seventy-five individuals in question, Brown’s order affects 17 in Marion County, where Dr. Pierce operates his oncology practice.
Clarkson reports that this group represents “some of the most violent offenses that we have seen juveniles commit in our community, and they were sentenced to substantial prison sentences as a result.”
She details that these 17 were convicted of Aggravated Murder, Murder or Attempted Murder; Sodomy in the First Degree or Rape in the First Degree (using force or sexually assaulting a child under 12 years old); and one convicted of Assault in the First Degree causing the victim to be blind and deaf in one ear.
The Oregonian reported that Clackamas County, Oregon District Attorney John Wentworth also “is stunned by the prospect of their early release” because theirs are “pretty extraordinary cases that include sexual assault, rapes, murder.”
Dr. Pierce said that society must be safe, government must focus on victims, and criminals must provide restitution.
Pierce believes that justice will be served if criminal justice reform consists of the following elements:
1) Those who pose a danger to society should remain incarcerated.
2) Those leaving incarceration should be prepared in a way that allows them to productively train/work upon release.
3) Those leaving jail must be carefully monitored for a significant period.
4) Direct restitution from lawbreakers to their victims should be an essential component of criminal justice reform.
“We must never forget our obligation to create a safe society that protects the innocent and respects those harmed by criminal activity,” added. Dr. Pierce.
Bud Pierce, M.D, Ph.D. is a business owner and senior partner of Oregon Oncology Specialists, one of the last physician-owned practices on the West Coast. He announced his candidacy for Governor on the Republican ticket in April 2021. Approved photos and biography can be found at In the News - Bud Pierce. To arrange an interview with Dr. Pierce, email [email protected].