Rantz: Democrat says bill releasing dangerous felons early will help victims ‘heal’

According to Rep. Debra Lekanoff (D-Bow), reducing sentences for violent felons isn’t just about giving criminals another chance—it’s somehow a path for victims to “heal.” Apparently, victims are supposed to find solace in knowing that their attackers are back on the streets years ahead of schedule.

House Bill 1274 (HB 1274) retroactively eliminates “juvenile points” from an offender’s score, which means anyone currently serving time for an adult conviction where past juvenile crimes factored into their sentence is now entitled to resentencing. Why? The bill claims it’s because “black, indigenous, and people of color are disproportionately impacted by prior juvenile felony adjudications.” In other words, too many “black, indigenous, and people of color” committed crimes as juveniles and have to live with the consequences.

This isn’t about helping kids who made a mistake—these are full-grown adults who committed violent crimes and are now poised to get massive sentence reductions, whether their victims like it or not. When Democrats push soft-on-crime policies, they usually try to mask the reality with buzzwords like “restorative justice” and “reform.” But HB 1274 takes the dishonesty to a new level.

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Automatic early release for dangerous criminals

The bill establishes an automatic right to resentencing for certain felons.

Offenders would see their sentences cut by an average nine years simply because Washington Democrats have decided their prior juvenile crimes should no longer count. According to Rep. Brian Burnett (R-Wenatchee), about 856 current inmates would be eligible for this benefit, with no requirement that they show evidence of rehabilitation.

Burnett raised a fundamental question: “What was the crime as the juvenile, and what was the crime as an adult?” This is crucial because we’re not talking about minor offenses. These are criminals who committed serious, often violent crimes both as juveniles and adults. It’s why they’re in prison in a state where it’s notoriously difficult to face any serious consequences.

Yet, under HB 1274, the qualification for a reduced sentence is having a juvenile record—meaning if someone was a lifelong criminal from a young age, they actually get a sentencing break. As Burnett put it, “Resentencing should not be taken lightly, and it most certainly should not be automatic.”

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The Fantasy of “Healing”

Rep. Lekanoff’s claim that HB 1274 provides a “time of healing” is an insult to victims. The logic is that by cutting sentences short, we’re somehow bringing criminals and victims together in some communal therapeutic journey.

“For me, Mr. Chairman, this bill is a time for Washington State to look at their juvenile system and really look at behavioral mental health,” Lekanoff said at a committee hearing, rambling through a speech that never actually addressed the harm this bill will cause.

“It’s time to look at our incarcerated system and understand for juveniles, there is a time that they have been challenged in times that they’ve faced. But this bill provides an opportunity for us, Mr. Chairman, to review, to assess and by merit and by the integrity of all Washingtonians, to think about, what are we going to be doing for the future of Washington State when we look at our juvenile incarcerated systems, and how do we bring ,Mr. Chairman, those youth and those children forward and heal them in a place as all Washingtonians should do, in my point of view,” she said.

This isn’t healing. It’s a slap in the face to victims who already suffered through the justice system once, only to see it bend over backward for their attackers.

It also has little to do with juveniles since this applies to adults who committed crimes.

Victims Get No Say

Rep. Chris Corry (R-Yakima) pushed back on the absurd claim that this bill helps victims heal. He correctly pointed out that victims aren’t even given a choice in this process. The resentencing is automatic—whether the victims feel safe or not.

“I think that this bill does not give victims a chance to heal. It doesn’t give them a choice at all,” Corry said. “That’s what’s so concerning about this, is that it basically is an automatic sentence reduction. And when we use the words like ‘children’ and ‘juvenile,’ we’re not talking about minor crimes or simple things that what we would expect young children to do. These are very serious offenses, and that’s why the sentences were very serious, because the crimes committed were serious. My concern here is around victims, and this puts victims into a monolith that I don’t think should be there.”

Many of these sentences were the result of plea deals where victims were assured that their attackers would serve a certain amount of time. Now, Democrats are reneging on that promise. The criminals get a do-over, while victims are once again left powerless, Corry correctly noted.

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The real reason for this bill

HB 1274 isn’t about fairness. It’s about advancing a radical agenda that treats criminals as the true victims.

The bill itself makes this clear, with multiple references to “racial disproportionality” as the justification for these automatic sentence reductions. Instead of addressing the root causes of crime, Democrats are simply emptying prisons.

And like every bad policy before it, this one will backfire. These offenders aren’t serving lengthy sentences because of a bureaucratic mistake or systemic racism—they’re in prison because they committed serious crimes. Reducing their time behind bars doesn’t erase their violent past, nor does it guarantee they won’t reoffend.

Instead of prioritizing criminals, Washington Democrats should be focused on actual victims. But HB 1274 makes their priorities crystal clear: criminals first, victims last.

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