50 convicted Tri-Cities felons to get early prison release during pandemic

A 31-year-old man who drove the getaway car for a Pasco murderer was on the initial list of inmates scheduled for early release from prison because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Jerry D. Porter Sr. was up for consideration because he also is serving time for an unrelated methamphetamine possession case.

But when Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant learned Porter was on the list, he quickly got word to the Washington Department of Corrections and asked for a review.

Apparently, department officials selected Porter as an early release candidate because of the drug case, overlooking the fact he’s also in custody on a violent crime conviction.

The Kennewick man has since been removed from consideration.

The department is releasing about 1,200 low-risk inmates who are locked up for non-violent or non-sex felony crimes and are nearing the end of their sentences.

About 50 convicted of Tri-Cities felonies already have been released or are about to get out of state prisons because of the state’s safety measures in response to the virus outbreak. Some will be done with their sentences and others will be on GPS monitoring.

People who take part in deadly shootings are not targeted to benefit from the state’s effort to reduce the density of the prison population.

“We were pleased with the response that the Department of Corrections made,” Sant said about the decision to take Porter off the release list.

Porter — with credit for good behavior — has about four months left on a two-year, five-month sentence for first-degree rendering criminal assistance from the December 2018 crime.

Sant said while most of the inmates being released are in for drug or property crimes, the state also has been looking at those with domestic violence violations, unlawful gun possessions and felony DUIs.

The intent is to help lessen the spread of COVID-19 and protect inmates from potential exposure by providing more physical distancing within the state’s correctional facilities.

Columbia Legal Services sought the release of thousands more, for a wider range of crimes, with a lawsuit against Gov. Jay Inslee and corrections department Secretary Stephen Sinclair.

The Washington state Supreme Court rejected the suit on Thursday — hours after oral arguments — saying Columbia Legal Services did not show their “actions constitute deliberate indifference to the COVID-19 risk at the Department of Corrections facilities.”

The 5-4 decision does not affect the ongoing early release that was already authorized.

Alerting victims

Benton County Prosecutor Andy Miller said “while no one was happy” with the initial order for 1,200 prisoners to be released, it was something prosecutors, law enforcement and victim rights advocates could live with compared to what was being asked in the petition filed by the legal aid organization.

Miller referenced the Supreme Court case in a post on his personal Facebook page, which was then shared to the Benton County Prosecutor’s Office page.

He said he has learned over the decades “that a long prison sentence is part of getting justice in brutal rape, child abuse, assault and murder cases. It makes a difference to survivors.”

The prosecutor acknowledged more work needs to be done to minimize the health concerns related to COVID and prisons, but he said Thursday’s decision was a win for justice.

“That means that prosecutors like myself won’t have to make heartbreaking calls to rape and assault victims and family members of murder victims that the dangerous offender that caused so much harm will be released,” Miller wrote.

The online lists of those who previously made the cut and have been transferred back to their communities and those still being screened for release are being updated every weekday.

“My office, upon receiving the initial list, began making notification to victims, despite the Department of Corrections indicating that they had initiated victim notification as well,” Sant told the Tri-City Herald.

As of Friday, the lists showed: nine commutations for Franklin and 12 for Benton; six rapid reentries for Franklin and 14 for Benton; and no work release furloughs to Franklin, while Benton has three.

Prosecutors, though, say their offices may have different counts because the corrections department lists show the county of origin, or from which county the person was first sentenced.

If the person was sent to another court to resolve a separate case before going to prison, that second county will not be reflected in the list.

Miller said prosecutors across the state have been exchanging criteria as they discovered cases where the county of origin was different than the county of sentence.

Inslee is granting the emergency commutation to qualifying inmates with convictions, and who already were set to get out before June 29.

Meanwhile, Secretary Sinclair has chosen a number of inmates for the rapid reentry program, which allows them to serve up to six months in the community on electronic home monitoring.

Another group is being granted emergency furloughs to serve their remaining sentence in a work release setting.

Both those in the reentry program and on furlough can be returned to prison if they violate any of their conditions after release from prison.