Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Oregon Parole Board decided Tuesday to take additional time before deciding whether or not to release a serial rapist.  As Pete Springer reports, the case presents a number of unusual circumstances that have raised questions about how criminals are sentenced in Oregon.

During the late 70’s and early 80’s, Richard Gillmore stalked and raped at least eight women in the Portland area.

He became known as the “jogging rapist” because he selected his victims while he was out jogging around town.

In 1988, a judge sentenced Gillmore to a minimum of two 15-year prison terms to be served consecutively.

The state parole board threw out one of those 15-year sentences.  Because of that, Gillmore is now eligible for parole.

Victims' rights advocates want Gillmore to serve at least 30 years.

Since Gillmore was convicted, Oregon voters have stiffened sentences for violent crimes, but crimes are prosecuted under the state laws in place at the time of the crime.

Steve Kanter is a law professor at Lewis and Clark College in Portland.

Steve Kanter: “So somebody that committed a crime in Oregon a long time ago, may have been under one system where we had the parole board making the decisions.  They might get a 30 year sentence and then the parole board would evaluate them periodically to decide how much of that they should actually serve.”

Kanter says the goals of  Oregon's new sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimums remain the same as the old guidelines used to sentence Gillmore.

Steve Kanter: “First, obviously, protection of society is a critical one.  Secondly, deterrence.  The idea that a sentence should be sufficient to deter other people from thinking about committing the same kind of crime.”

Kanter adds that taking criminals out of circulation for a while and rehabilitating them is another goal.

But just how long a criminal is locked up depends on a number of things.

Bethany Smith: “such as the crime date, the type of crime, inmates criminal history...."

Bethany Smith is with the Offender Information and Sentence Computation Unit.  That unit tracks all 14,000 inmates in the Oregon correctional system and calculates things such as time taken off a sentence for good behavior or work done while incarcerated.

Bethany Smith: "It is really rather complicated and there isn’t any simple answer as far as what applies to every inmate.”

In Oregon, criminal sentences have mostly gotten tougher over time, according to state senator Floyd Prozanski.

He chairs the senate judiciary committee, which is responsible for establishing criminal sentences and looks at how specific crimes have been punished historically.

Floyd Prozanski: “We also use the criminal justice commission to help us establish what is going to be the crime level or seriousness of the crime.”

Prozanski says there have always been discussions about sentencing and how to punish certain crimes, with sex offenses being scrutinized in recent years because some therapists believe that sex offenders can never be rehabilitated.

Prozanski says the statute of limitations for prosecuting sex offenders has also been extended.

Floyd Prozanski: “It used to be much more rigid and limited in time for how far out the state could go to hold someone accountable and now in many of these cases, the statute of limitations has increased significantly.”

And of course, criminal sentencing is also determined at the ballot box, with many crimes now facing mandatory minimum sentences under voter-approved laws such as Measure 11.

But late last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal sentencing guidelines are only advisory and not binding.

In the case of serial rapist Richard Gillmore, mandatory minimum sentencing does not apply since he committed his crimes before those laws went into effect. 

Twice before, the state parole board has approved Gillmore’s release.

A lawsuit by a victim who was not notified of these hearings prevented that release and prompted this week's parole hearing.

Nancy Sellers with the Oregon Board of Parole and Post Prison Supervision says an agreement at yesterday's hearing led the parole board to delay their decision on Gillmore.

Nancy Sellers: “Because of the terms of the agreement, the record will be held open for seven days following the hearing yesterday so the record will close on July 1st.”

Sellers says after July 1st, the parole board will then independently deliberate and review Gillmore’s parole record and issue a written decision later this summer.