Call to Order and Roll Call
The 2nd meeting of the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary was held on Monday, July 27, 2015, at<MeetTime> 10:00 AM, at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Facility in West Liberty, Kentucky. Representative John Tilley, Chair, called the meeting to order, and the secretary called the roll.
Present were:
Members: Senator Whitney Westerfield, Co-Chair; Representative John Tilley, Co-Chair; Senators Danny Carroll, Perry B. Clark, Ray S. Jones II, Wil Schroder, and Robin L. Webb; Representatives Johnny Bell, Denver Butler, Joseph M. Fischer, Chris Harris, Joni L. Jenkins, Mary Lou Marzian, Reginald Meeks, Suzanne Miles, Darryl T. Owens, Ryan Quarles, Tom Riner, and Brent Yonts.
Guests: Commissioner LaDonna Thompson and Innocence Project State Policy Advocate Amshula Jayaram.
LRC Staff: Jon Grate, Matt Trebelhorn, Alice Lyon, Elishea Schweickart, Beth Taylor, and Lindsay Huffman.
Kentucky House Bill 1 Impact Evaluation and 2014 Overdose Death Report
Representative John Tilley summarized the impact on House Bill 1. The mandatory use of KASPER has resulted in three things: overall decreased prescribing of controlled substances, decreased inappropriate prescribing, and decreased “doctor shopping”. All three of these were goals of the bill, and all three have been successfully achieved. House Bill 217 was passed a year later, which cleaned up some parts of House Bill 1 and married the regulations to the statutory provisions. Representative Tilley asked members to note that those who are prescribing in high quantities are being monitored. Statistics have shown that since the passage of House Bill 1, heroin use increased. There has been an increase in heroin-related deaths. This shows how the market and opiate addiction comes into play when it comes to drug use. Recommendations include matching supply side interventions such as HB1 with demand-side interventions to increase long-term effectiveness in treatment and prevention. Representative Tilley noted that Senate Bill 197 does exactly that. Another recommendation is the continued analyses of prescribing behavior, patient behavior, and outcomes which is warranted to determine if the supply side impacts observed are sustained.
Improving the Accuracy of Eyewitness Testimony
Amshula Jayaram, State Policy Advocate for the Innocence Project, discussed eyewitness testimony and the accuracy of it. The Innocence Project works with three important issues: eyewitness misidentification, reporting interrogations, and post-convection DNA testing. The mission of the Innocence Project is to exonerate the innocent through DNA reform and strengthen the system through the correct identification of actual offenders. There is an Innocence network around the country; it is not tied by money but they do share resources and ideas. Ms. Jayaram presented the committee with numbers pertaining to DNA exonerations and eyewitness testimony, including a total of 332 exonerations and 238 misidentified. Another goal of the Innocence Project is to protect public safety. For every wrongly convicted individual, there is a perpetrator who remains at large. In cases pertaining to Innocence clients, the real perpetrators were eventually identified in 49 percent of all DNA based exonerations.
There are several ways a wrongful conviction can occur. Some of the top contributing factors for wrongful convictions are eyewitness identification, improper forensic science, false confessions, and informants. Ms. Jayaram also spoke briefly on several reasons false convictions can occur based on eyewitness testimony. This is because the recall process is selective, suggestive and malleable. Not only will memory fade quickly, memory is also easily subject to contamination by post-event information. It is important that the “Core Four” are followed when it comes to an eyewitness: blind/blinded administration, proper filler composition, instructions to the witness must be clear, and immediately recording an elicited confidence statement. By following these low cost steps, mis-identification is less likely. Nationally, 13 states have adopted statewide reform.
Responding to a question from Representative Marzian, Ms. Jayaram stated that DNA on arrest is not the answer to wrongful convictions because it’s so readily available.
Responding to a question from Senator Schroder, Ms. Jayaram stated the Innocence Project has not yet spoke to the Prosecutors Advisory Council of Kentucky but they have spoken with members of law enforcement and members of the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet.
Department of Corrections
Commissioner LaDonna Thompson, with the Department of Corrections (DOP), presented to the committee. Commissioner Thompson spoke briefly on inmate escapes in Kentucky. Although escape attempts do not happen often, they are always a possibility. She recalled the serious escape from Beattyville that happened, and attempts at Northpoint Training Center and Eddyville. Some of these escape opportunities arise because staff is vulnerable, staff is with them every day, and staff is unable to be paid well.
Staffing is also another critical issue the Department of Corrections is currently facing. Not only are correctional officers being underpaid at this time, but many have to work mandatory overtime, up to 16 hours a day, several times a week. As of July 1, 2015 the statewide correctional officer vacancy rate was 22.1 percent. These long hours that officers are being required to work may also be contributing to higher post-traumatic stress disorder rates, and posing safety risk because officers may be too tired to catch something. The amount of overtime that is required is also very costly. For the 2015 fiscal year thus far, overtime cost is at $9.4 million.
Responding to a question from Senator Westerfield, Commissioner Thompson stated that the $9.4 million is not an estimate but has already been paid out. She also stated that even with the required overtime it has been hard for correctional facilities to staff work shifts. Many probation and parole officers have been picking up some of the weekend shifts.
Responding to a question from Senator Jones, Commissioner Thompson stated that many of the probation and parole officers that are volunteering at the correctional facilities were once correctional officers themselves.
Responding to a question from Senator Webb, Commissioner Thompson stated that the Department of Corrections is currently not able to be competitive when it comes to salaries with many Kentucky jails or Kentucky’s surrounding states.
A review by the Personnel Cabinet revealed that Kentucky’s correctional officers and hazardous duty workers were paid at below-market rates compared to surrounding states. Commissioner Thompson stated that the long hours and low wages were also contributing to the high turnover rate when it comes to officers. The low pay scale also attributes to difficulty hiring new officers and staff exhaustion due to working second jobs. Correctional officer turnover rates have been measured as high as 66.7 percent. Commissioner Thompson also stated that under the new wage structure the starting salary for correctional officers increased 13.1 percent, but it is too early to tell if it will help with the high vacancy rate.
Responding to a question from Senator Carroll, Commissioner Thompson stated with current prison designs a high number of staff is needed for things to run smoothly, but they do try to use technology as is it created.
Responding to a question from Representative Bell, Commissioner Thompson stated that besides the monetary benefit, another incentive for working overtime would be increased trainings. While many of her staff have showed an interest though, it is difficult for her to let them off work to attend because of the DOP’s current critical staffing situation.
Commissioner Thompson touched briefly on the lack of a career ladder for her staff. If a career ladder statutorily existed, she believed many more people would want to work as correctional officers and it would help to retain staff. She discussed the change in the retirement law. After retirement went from 20 years to 25 years, DOC saw a drop in staff.
While correction officers are a critical situation, DOC’s Division of Probation & Parole is also beginning to experience record vacancy rates. In 2014 the vacancy rate for probation & parole officers was at 19.44 percent. Commissioner Thompson stated that this is due to the many additional duties the officers have along with their high caseloads, which are currently 86:1. The highest percentage of probation & parole employee turnover is within the first five years of employment.
Responding to a question from Representative Riner, Commissioner Thompson stated that there is no compensation from DOC for officers who are hurt or suffer PTSD while on duty.
Commissioner Thompson discussed several positive changes that are underway. House Bill 463 is working, and the number of women being incarcerated has dropped. Because of this, Western Kentucky Correctional Complex, which is split into two separate buildings, will hold women in one location and men at the other. This change is expected to save about $700,000 annually. Commissioner Thompson discussed segregation changes. Time spent by inmates in segregation has been cut to nearly half, and general population re-entry training has improved an inmate’s chances of staying in the general population.
Responding to a question from Senator Webb, Commissioner Thompson stated that the mental health of inmates is an unknown for DOC unless something is reported to them.
Responding to a question from Representative Yonts, Commissioner Thompson stated that several of DOC staff and correctional officers are currently on food stamps.
Responding to a question from Senator Jones, Commissioner Thompson stated retirement is a big incentive for recruiting and retaining officers, since the mandatory service requirement was increased interest has dropped.
Responding to a question from Senator Clark, Commissioner Thompson stated that the record for prison breaks in Kentucky is very low.
Responding to a question from Representative Bell, Commissioner Thompson stated the biggest challenge for inmates when they leave the prison system is finding jobs.
Responding to a question from Representative Meeks, Commissioner Thompson stated that there are fewer than 20 inmates from out of state being held in Kentucky facilities.
The meeting adjourned at 12:00 PM.