DC mayor vetoes city's overhaul of criminal code for sending 'wrong message'

Cami Mondeaux

January 04, 11:50 AM January 04, 11:50 AM

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the D.C. Council’s bill to overhaul the city’s criminal code, arguing several of the provisions that seek to reduce penalties for some crimes would send “the wrong message” and overwhelm the district’s court system.

Bowser announced her intent to veto the bill during a press conference on Tuesday, sending a formal letter of concerns to city council members the following day. Her veto comes just two months after lawmakers unanimously passed the bill seeking to overhaul the city’s entire criminal code — a project the district has been working on for 16 years.

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"I support modernizing and standardizing the District’s criminal code. However, given the broad scope of legislation, and remaining divisions of the criminal justice community, I urge the Council to take more time to consider it, a sentiment I have heard echoed in the community," Bowser wrote in a letter to the council on Wednesday. "A complete overhaul of our city’s criminal code is a once-a-century opportunity. I believe it is more important to get this opportunity right than to add policies and weaken penalties into what should be a bill that makes D.C. safer. As elected officials, it is our duty to ensure our criminal justice system is fair and functional. Enacting this legislation without listening to our criminal justice partners or our judicial branch fails to uphold that duty."

The rewritten legislation sought to clarify and redefine penalties for criminal offenses, with several lawmakers arguing severe punishments often do not deter crime rates. Part of the rewrite included provisions that would eliminate most mandatory minimum sentences, establish jury trials for nearly all misdemeanor cases, and reduce the maximum penalties for crimes such as carjackings or robberies.

Lawmakers responded to initial pushback of reduced sentences, arguing punishments for more severe crimes wouldn’t be reduced and that many of the newly proposed penalties lined up with how judges and juries have been ruling for years. Additionally, the law is not set to take place for three years, giving law enforcement and court officials time to prepare.

Proponents of the bill criticized Bowser for her pledge to veto, with several lawmakers vowing to override her decision.

“You couldn’t ask for a more thorough process to craft a bill that modernizes and overhauls what is consistently ranked as one of the worst criminal codes in the United States,” said Councilman Charles Allen, who chaired the council’s public safety committee at the time the legislation passed, in a statement. "A veto sends a message to keep the status quo — one that has clearly shown it doesn’t keep us safe — and it is not the right decision for the moment we face.”

The council only needs a two-thirds majority to override a veto from Bowser, a likely outcome as the bill unanimously passed the legislative body twice last year.

Lawmakers began the process of overhauling the city’s criminal code 16 years ago in order to update the law’s language and policies. As a result, the D.C. Council created the Criminal Code Reform Commission to analyze the current law, research best practices, and propose changes.

“The Revised Criminal Code Act is the product of a 16-year-long effort with hard-fought compromise and consensus among the key agencies who administer our criminal justice system,” Allen said. “After lengthy discussions, serious compromises, and two unanimous votes by the Council to pass this legislation, residents can trust the Council will do the right thing and override a veto to put the modernized law in place.”