Executive order [Aug. 30, 1999]

THE STATE OF GEORGIA
EXECUTIVE ORDER

BY THE GOVERNOR:

w HEREAS:
WHEREAS: WHEREAS: WHEREAS: WHEREAS: WHEREAS:

Crime and crime prevention are ever present concerns for the people of the State of Georgia and its government; and
The sentencing of convicted criminals and the service of sentences handed down are clearly a central element of the state's overall criminal justice policy; and
Georgia's prison population has expanded rapidly in the past twenty-five years and has created the need for an ever-growing number of prisons and prison beds; and
The percentage of the state budget allocated for building prisons and maintaining prisoners has increased from two percent in 1975 to over six percent in 1999, and is expected to continue to climb well into the next decade; and
There exists a need for review and recommendations with respect to a rational, consistent, and planned approach to sentencing through the use of sentencing guidelines in the Georgia criminal justice system; and
Such sentencing guidelines will allow the State to properly prepare for future correctional needs, promote the divestiture of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles from prison population management responsibility; concentrate current and planned prison capacity on the incarceration of violent, sex, and repeat offenders; accurately reflect the actual time that a felony offender will be imprisoned; reduce unwarranted disparity in sentences for offenders who generally have similar charges and similar criminal histories; maintain meaningful judicial discretion in the imposition of sentences and suffkient flexibility to permit individualized sentences; and, ensure that Georgia judges are able to sentence offenders to the most appropriate penalties within a coordinated system of correctional options programs;
NOW THEREFORE, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY VESTED IN ME
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AS GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF GEORGIA, IT IS HEREBY
That there is created the Governor's Commission on Certainty in Sentencing (hereinafter "the Commission") which shall be comprised of 30 members who shall be appointed by the Governor and shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor and that the following persons be, and they are hereby, appointed as members of the Commission:
Representatives of the Council of Superior Court Judges
The Honorable John D. Allen Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit Columbus, Georgia
The Honorable Robert E. Floumoy, Jr. Cobb Judicial Circuit Marietta, Georgia
The Honorable John E. Girardeau Northeastern Judicial Circuit Gainesville, Georgia
The Honorable Linda Warren Hunter Stone Mountain Judicial Circuit Decatur, Georgia
The Honorable Faye S. Martin Ogeechee Judicial Circuit Statesboro, Georgia
The Honorable Gary C. McCorvey Tifton Judicial Circuit Tifton, Georgia
The Honorable Sidney L. Nation Rockdale Judicial Circuit Conyers, Georgia
The Honorable James W. Oxendine Gwinnett Judicial Circuit Lawrenceville, Georgia

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Representatives of the District Attorneys' Association of Georgia
The Honorable Tami Colston Rome Judicial Circuit Rome, Georgia
The Honorable Robert B. Ellis Alapaha Judicial Circuit Nashville, Georgia
The Honorable Ken Hodges Dougherty Judicial Circuit Albany, Georgia
The Honorable Paul Howard Atlanta Judicial Circuit Atlanta, Georgia
The Honorable Robert E. Keller Clayton Judicial Circuit Jonesboro, Georgia
The Honorable Spencer Lawton, Jr. Eastern Judicial Circuit Savannah, Georgia
The Honorable Kermit N. McManus Conasauga Judicial Circuit Dalton, Georgia
The Honorable Lydia Jackson Sartain Northeastern Judicial Circuit Gainesville, Georgia
Renresentatives of the Georgia Sheriffs Association
The Honorable C. Lewis Parker Sheriff of Appling County Baxley, Georgia
The Honorable Tommy E. Waldrop Sheriff of Douglas County Douglasville, Georgia
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Representatives of the Georgia General Assembly
The Honorable Rene' D. Kemp Chair, Senate Judiciary Committee 121-I State Capitol Atlanta, Georgia
The Honorable Greg Hecht Vice Chair, Senate Judiciary Committee 321-B Legislative Office Building Atlanta, Georgia
The Honorable Jim Martin Chair, House Judiciary Committee 132 State Capitol Atlanta, Georgia
The Honorable Tom Bordeaux Vice Chair, House Judiciary Committee 109 State Capitol Atlanta, Georgia

Members of the Board of Pardons and Paroles
The Honorable Walter Ray, Chair 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, SE. Atlanta, Georgia
The Honorable Dr. Betty Cook 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, SE. Atlanta, Georgia
The Honorable Bobby Whitworth 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, S.E. Atlanta, Georgia

Commissioner of Corrections
Commissioner William J. Wetherington 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, S.E. Atlanta, Georgia

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Representative of Public Defenders
Mr. Vernon Pitts Fulton County Public Defenders Office Atlanta, Georgia
Representatives of Crime Victims
Mr. David H. Moskowitz Moskowitz & Carraway, P.C. Atlanta, Georgia
Ms. Helen Smith Chatham County Victim-Witness Assistance Program Savannah, Georgia
Representative of Private Probation
Mr. Lanson Newsome, President Detention Management Services, Inc. Jonesboro, Georgia.
IT IS FURTHER That the Governor's Commission on Certainty in Sentencing will evaluate the State's sentencing and correctional laws and policies, past and current sentencing practices, and statistical and programmatic Georgia criminal justice trends, and by December 1,1999, will deliver a full written report to the Governor which will provide specific direction and guidance for the State on the development and implementation of advisory sentencing guidelines.
IT IS FURTHER That the Commission shall also adopt a correctional population simulation model to assist State criminal justice executives, legislators and the judiciary in predicting the State correctional resources that will be needed to implement the Commission's recommendations.

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IT IS FURTHER
That. the Chair of the Commission is the Honorable Robert E. Flournoy, Jr., Superior Court Judge, Cobb Judicial Circuit, and the Vice-Chair is the Honorable Robert E. Keller, District Attorney, Clayton Judicial Circuit.
IT IS FURTHER
That regular meetings shall be held at such time and place as designated by the Chair or Vice-Chair and that members of the Commission shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for travel and other reasonable and necessary expenses incurred while attending meetings of or on behalf of the Commission. Nonstate employees and legislators will receive the same per diem as that received by members of the General Assembly for attendance at meetings of the Commission.
This 30th day of August 1999.

GOVERNOR
AA-//A
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

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