Kathy A. Bolten

Des Moines Register

More than 1,190 inmates are serving time in Iowa prisons for violent crimes that, by law, require a specific number of years behind bars and at least 70 percent of the sentences be served before they're considered for parole.

And at least 35 percent of those inmates are black — in a state where 3.4 percent of the population is African-American.

If you want to know why Iowa imprisons a larger share of its black residents than almost any other state, mandatory minimum sentencing laws are one place to start, critics say.

Iowa's lopsided statistics have prompted the state’s Public Safety Advisory Board for three consecutive years to recommend that the Legislature ease sentencing mandates on two crimes — first- and second-degree robbery — that have been especially tough on African-Americans, said Thomas Walton, the board’s chairman and a Des Moines attorney.

During a four-decade period, 42 percent of Iowa inmates serving prison time for robbery were black, state data show.

A Des Moines Register review of robbery sentencing guidelines for 11 Midwestern states shows that Iowa’s are the most restrictive. They allow the least amount of judicial discretion in determining how much time an offender will spend behind bars.

“The theory behind mandatory minimum sentences was, ‘Let’s lock them up for a longer period of time … and then we’ve avoided those re-offenses for the period of time that they’ve been incarcerated,’” Walton said. “Some of those assumptions, based on studies done by our board staff, were not necessarily correct.”

Iowa finds itself embroiled in the same debate raging nationally over the impact of mandatory minimum sentences, which were put in place during the get-tough-on-crime decades of the 1980s and '90s and have ballooned prison populations.

Much of the discussion has focused on easing harsh federal mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. But some reformers also want to review mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes.

For example, Florida’s governor in February signed into law legislation that eliminates a mandatory minimum sentence for aggravated assault with a firearm. It was the first time in more than 20 years that Florida repealed a mandatory minimum sentence, according to the nonpartisan Families Against Mandatory Minimums, based in Washington.

This year, the Iowa House, acting on part of the advisory board’s recommendation, approved a bill that includes loosening the mandatory minimum sentence for second-degree robbery. Judges would have the discretion to say how much time an offender would serve — from three to seven years — before becoming eligible for parole on the 10-year sentence. Now, offenders must serve at least seven years.

But Sen. Kevin Kinney, D-Oxford, filed an amendment stripping the proposal from House File 2064, which has not been voted on by the Senate.

“When there is a weapon brandished during a robbery, I have a hard time reducing the sentence,” said Kinney, a retired Johnson County sheriff’s officer. “I just don’t want to reduce penalties for violent crimes.”

That Iowa lawmakers have even discussed changes to a mandatory minimum sentencing law is surprising, said Greg Newburn, state policy director for Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

“No one wants to look like they are soft on crime,” he said.

Tough on African-Americans

In 2007, Iowa had one of the highest rates of incarceration of blacks in the nation, a study by The Sentencing Project showed. Blacks in Iowa were imprisoned at a rate 13.6 times greater than whites, double the national average, the study found.

In a 2013 report, members of Iowa's Public Safety Advisory Board wrote that reducing the disparity "in Iowa’s prison system will be extremely difficult absent some modifications" of mandatory minimum sentences. The report said the proposal "modifies the 'one-size fits all' mandatory minimum sentences" and provides more discretion to the Department of Corrections to recommend early releases and the Board of Parole to consider work release or parole.

Other Midwestern states also have struggled with disproportionate percentages of blacks in prison for robbery, the Register review found.

— In Indiana, 57 percent of inmates incarcerated on robbery-related charges are black, though 9 percent of that state’s population is African-American.

— In Kansas, 45 percent of inmates doing time for robbery are black, compared with a statewide population that is 6.3 percent black.

— In North Dakota, 21 percent of those incarcerated on robbery-related charges are black; 2 percent of that state’s population is black.

Polk County Attorney John Sarcone is unapologetic about the racial disparity that exists in Iowa’s prisons.

“Guess what? They are committing the crimes,” he said. “The reality is, there’s a disparity in the number of crimes committed by people of color. What you have to do is address the conduct there.”

Iowans support change

More Iowans support reducing or eliminating mandatory minimum prison sentences for some felony charges than oppose doing so, the latest Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll shows.

The poll, conducted Feb. 21-24 by Selzer & Co., shows that 49 percent believe Iowa lawmakers should either reduce or eliminate mandatory minimum sentences; 41 percent oppose making changes; and 10 percent are not sure. The poll questioned 804 Iowa adults by telephone and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Support for making changes is strongest among Democrats, at 64 percent, the poll shows. Majorities of men and people younger than 35 also favor easing such sentences.

In Iowa, offenders convicted of first- or second-degree robbery must serve 17 1/2 years or seven years, respectively, before they are eligible for parole.

In 10 other Midwestern states, judges determine a robbery offender’s sentence. In some of those states, laws specify what percentage of the sentence must be served before an offender can be considered for parole.

In Indiana, for instance, judges can sentence offenders convicted of a Level 2 robbery offense — that's similar to Iowa’s first-degree robbery — to 10 to 30 years, but inmates must serve 75 percent of the sentence. Those found guilty of a Level 3 robbery offense — that's similar to Iowa’s second-degree robbery — must serve three to 16 years.

Changes proposed by the Iowa advisory board would put Iowa’s sentencing laws for robbery more in line with those of surrounding states.

The board since 2013 has recommended that the mandatory minimum prison term for first-degree robbery be reduced to seven years and for second-degree robbery, three years. Offenders would serve 85 percent of their sentence before becoming eligible for parole, according to the recommendation.

The case for mandatory sentences

Iowa first passed mandatory minimum legislation in 1996, two years after Congress passed its massive crime bill that folded in tougher sentences.

Iowa's new law required offenders to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences for crimes such as robbery, vehicular homicide and attempted murder. In return for the tougher sentences, Iowa received nearly $23 million from the federal government to pay for additional prison space.

In 2003, with prison populations burgeoning, Iowa eased the mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines, requiring offenders to serve 70 percent of their sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

Those guidelines remain in place. And prosecutors say no changes are needed.

“What we were seeing (was) victims who were being violated, and in severe ways,” said Sarcone, Polk County’s county attorney since 1991. “The law isn’t bad; it’s the conduct that it is directed at is what’s bad.”

Iowa’s sentencing laws should send a message that “we don’t want people doing these types of crimes, and if you do it, there’s severe penalties to it,” Sarcone said.

Others see the issue differently.

Convictions for robbery have been more numerous than other violent felonies, said Walton, the advisory board chairman. “I saw this as an opportunity to begin the process of reducing prison populations and the disproportionate impact on African-Americans.”

According to the board’s 2013 report, mandatory minimum sentences fail to take into consideration the offender’s role in the crime or criminal history.

“We aren’t suggesting you eliminate mandatory minimums entirely, but at a point we think the responsibility for determining exactly how long somebody stays in prison" should be made by the parole board, said District Court Judge Jeffrey Neary of Sioux City.

Neary, an ex officio member of the advisory board, said the parole board has information about an offender, such as risk assessments and rehabilitation, that can help determine whether the inmate is ready to be released.

Some offenders are ready to be released back into society before they’ve served their minimum sentence requirement, he said. “The board of parole is the best people to decide whether the (offender) should stay longer or not.”

Too much power for prosecutors?

Those who oppose mandatory minimum sentences believe too much power is given to prosecuting attorneys to determine an offender’s sentence.

“Plea bargains are made behind closed doors. There’s no accountability, and no appeals process,” said Newburn of the Families Against Mandatory Minimums. “The prosecutor becomes the de facto judge.”

But Sarcone warns against unintended consequences. If the proposed change in the Iowa Legislature goes through, he predicted that fewer plea bargains will be made to lower first-degree robbery charges to second degree. The result would be more people with first-degree robbery convictions and more people in Iowa’s prisons serving longer sentences, he said.

“Be careful of what you wish for,” Sarcone said.