ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A daughter who lost her mother, and a mother who lost her daughter - both fighting to prevent convicted murderers from getting let out of prison early.
“I feel for his next victim,” Gale Seaton from Bowie said.
Seaton’s daughter Stacey was 17 when she was killed in a murder-for-hire case in 2005. The man who paid for the hit, McDonald Abraham, now walks free. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2012, after pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
“Then we got notice that he was eligible at 7 and 1/2 years. And we tried to figure out why. Well, instead of working in the infirmary all day, or the kitchen all day, he worked in the infirmary half a day, and the kitchen half a day, but got dim credits for both. Then he needed counseling, as many people in there do, and should get. But then he got repeated counseling and counseling and counseling, and more dim credits and more dim credits and more dim credits.”
“Dim credits,” aka diminution credits, allow inmates to shave time off their sentence by participating in work, education, and programming in prison. If they earn enough, the release is automatic, meaning it doesn’t have to be reviewed by a parole board.
“So I did my research, and found out what diminution credits meant. I was totally surprised about them altogether. I used to think that justice had been served when the offender had been apprehended, had gone to court, and was convicted,” the daughter of murder victim Geraldine Williams said. She did not want to provide her name, but she’s fighting to get rid of diminution credits for convicted murderers for years.
Her mother was murdered in Prince George’s County in 1900. Her killer, Michael Lamont Johnson, wasn’t caught until 15 years later, and as part of a plea deal, was sentenced to 40 years instead of life in prison.
"But he still earns dim credits, so he will probably be able to come out a lot earlier than the total sentence. [...] “My mother was heinously murdered. She was stabbed over 30 times, she was gagged, she was suffocated with a pillow. The knife was left stuck in her throat."
Lawmakers have had the chance to pass different versions of “Geraldine’s Law,” multiple times. But the idea of reforming the diminution credit system hasn’t caught real momentum until this session, after the murder of Pava LaPere in September. Her accused killer, Jason Billingsley, was let out of prison early, 11 months before her murder, thanks to diminution credits. He was previously serving time for a sexual assault.
“Very tragic story, completely avoidable. The justice system let her, and her family, and her community down,” Senator William Folden said. He introduced the “Safe Communities Act” in the Senate. It was cross-filed in the House, sponsored there by Delegate Jason Buckel, who we spoke to last week about this.
The bill would eliminate diminution credits for inmates serving a sentence for first or second-degree murder, and reduce how many credits can be earned for inmates convicted of other violent crimes and sex offenses.
"Their sentencing means nothing. They get a 30 year sentence, they’re eligible for diminution credits. By the time they serve a certain portion of their sentence with the dim credits, they’re out in less than a third. That’s insulting.”
Opponents argue that getting rid of diminution credits, gets rid of incentives for inmates to better themselves in prison, and inmates who have shown true remorse and rehabilitation are deserving of a second chance. Anne Kirsch, co-founder and director of advocacy at nonprofit Prepare for Parole and Reentry, testified in opposition of the bill.
"Her mother’s life was cut short, so tragically, and this person gets a chance at redemption, a second chance, when her mother doesn’t," Senator Folden said of Geraldine Williams' daughter.
Williams' daughter suggested a different way for diminution credits to be used. Rather than allowing credits to reduce an inmate's sentence, she says: “Give them privileges while they’re incarcerated. Use it within the system - more family privileges, maybe cardinal visits. Use it that way.”
Currently, under Maryland state law, the only inmates who cannot earn diminution credits are inmates imprisoned for a lifetime sexual offender supervision violation, and inmates convicted of rape or sexual assault against a victim under the age of 16.
During his testimony, Senator Folden pointed out that inmates convicted of raping a child are ineligible for diminution credits, but inmates convicted of murdering a child are eligible.
After today's testimony, the bill goes to a vote in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.
Another bill in the House that targets the diminution credit system,the Pava Marie LaPere Act, would eliminate diminution credit eligibility for inmates convicted of rape or a first-degree sex offense.
