SPOKANE, Wash. — Over the weekend, a 24-time convicted felon was arrested for Murder 1st Degree, demonstrating just one example of the continuous “Revolving Door” of criminal justice in America, when ex-offenders are released to the streets only to offend again.
“And we say that we’re giving them programs that help them from recidivating, but here we are facing historic high crime rates in the state of WA. That is no coincidence,” Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said.
On Tuesday, Sheriff Nowels weighed in on the idea of the “Revolving Door” of repeat felony offenders, calling for action from voters across the state.
“This problem with the criminal justice system is far bigger than just a jail, it’s far bigger than just our court system, it’s far bigger than just what’s going on at the state level,” Sheriff Nowels said. “It’s a culmination of all this underinvestment that is causing people that are 24, 25-time convicted felons to be out on the streets to victimize the public again. It’s unacceptable.”
Ex-offenders on the road to never truly quit crime. Sheriff Nowels said without the right enforcement, rehabilitation and incarceration, softer crime will lead to violent crime.
In the last 15 years, Nowels said the Washington State Legislature has dropped on the ball on providing stable, effect incarceration.
“Systematically over the last 15 years, the Washington State Legislature has been reducing standard sentencing ranges for any myriad of crimes, like drug crimes and property crimes,” Sheriff Nowels said. “Which means, they’re letting people out of prison.”
46-year-old Steven White is just one example, right here in Spokane. He was scheduled to make his first appearance in Spokane County District Court Tuesday afternoon but refused.
According to the Spokane Police Department, White is a 24-time convicted felon with criminal history that includes residential burglary, riot with a deadly weapon, robbery, assault, and theft. At the time of the incident, White had an active arrest warrant, issued by the Department of Corrections, for failing to comply with his community custody requirements.
According to court documents, SPD Officers believe White stabbed an innocent man, 44-year-old Shan Anderson, 14 times near the Wall Street Via-duct late August 26. In the days that followed, detectives obtained nearby security surveillance footage that showed a man “clearly” to be White thrusting his arm or hand downward into Anderson.
Police believe Anderson could have been sleeping at the time of the attack.
In written reports, officers describe large pools of a “blood-like substance” surrounding the area near the victim. When they saw his body, they said he was covered in blood from the waist down, with multiple visible injuries.
According to the Spokane County Medical Examiner, the suspect stabbed the victim in his right leg severing the Popliteal Artery; this caused him to bleed out and die. The weapon was determined to be edged, and that most likely of a knife.
White was arrested for Anderson’s murder on September 2.
“Our rights as law abiding citizens to be safe and comfortable outweigh the rights of the people who are committing crimes to have comfortable outcomes for them,” Sheriff Nowels said. “It’s not that we shouldn’t be investing in helping people get better, but we can’t do it at the expense of the safety of our law-abiding citizens.”
Sheriff Nowels is one of several county leaders in favor of measure one, which will appear on the November ballot. Measure one would enforce a new sales tax that would allocate funds raised between April 2024 and December 2054 to go to a new jail.
There are three goals the county believes this tax will help them reach by 2028. First, to restore the current jail to its original design of 462 beds, one inmate per cell. Right now, there are closer to 900 inmates. Second, to construct a community correction center which would help with drug abuse and job training. And finally, to close Geiger Corrections Center and construct a brand-new jail.
“The state is shifting the burden onto local communities,” Sheriff Nowels said. “We are seeing that playout in our jail population, and it’s going to get worse.”
Sheriff Nowels believes these steps through measure one will help remedy the “Revolving Door” idea by holding offenders, especially repeat offenders, accountable through rehabilitation and just incarceration.
But, a new jail is not the only fix. Minds need to be ticking toward change at the state, and national level, as well.
“A lot of it is driven by state policy and it is not going to get fixed overnight,” Sheriff Nowels said. “The jail will make somethings better but not all of it. A lot of this has to change at the state level.
