‘Everyone is on the side of the criminal’: Widow of murdered man slams WA juvenile early release bill

Greg Moore was killed three years ago while jogging in Maple Valley. He was hit by a 15-year-old girl from Sea-Tac who said she wanted to “bump” him and was reportedly heard laughing about the incident, according to Cox Media Group.

The teen was sentenced to serve until she was 21.

A new Washington bill could change the allotted time for juveniles. Senate Bill 5266, known as the “Youth Hope Act,” is designed to give young offenders the opportunity to seek a second chance outside of prison by applying for early release once they reach 24 years old.

Widow of murdered man shares view on juvenile early release bill

Michelle Moore, now a widow, joined “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH to explain how painful this bill is to families in circumstances similar to her own.

“It’s as if everyone is on the side of the criminal and no one is on the side of the victim, or the families of the victim,” she said.

Moore explained that Smith is technically serving her time but was transferred from Echo Glen juvenile detention center and was sent to a group home in Yakima, where she attends school, rides public transportation and is not behind bars.

“She has to meet some sort of check-in criteria, but generally speaking, she has a good deal of freedom,” she shared. “And she took Greg just a couple years ago. So that’s the hard part.”

Why are juvenile criminals offered so many chances?

When asked about the intent of SB 5266, meant to reward “reformed” youth, Moore said there is no guarantee of reform. She also noted that while the families do give a statement to influence a decisions related to punishment, she doesn’t feel as if the review board actually takes it into consideration.

“I think that they really want to do what in their mind is best for the child or the person, but what is happening is our crime in King County is actually decreasing overall, but youth crime is going up and I personally think that the reason that youth crime is going up is because there’s no consequences for these kids,” she said.

Moore also shared that while she is a left-leaning person, she is worried the pendulum has swung too far left.

“Hopefully, eventually, we can get it right and find a space where the victims and or the families of the victims feel that justice has been served and the perpetrators of the crimes can be rehabilitated and become productive, contributing members of society, but releasing them 15 years before their original sentence doesn’t seem fair,” she said.

She hoped the juvenile early release bill is soundly defeated.

Contributing: Matt Markovich, KIRO Newsradio

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