As the Iowa Legislature reaches overtime and 8 days over our 100-day limitation we are really hitting some serious issues. We continue to deal with the Property Tax issue. Right now it appears a daunting task. Both sides of the issue feel they have the best plan. We continue to work on that. This is the closest that we have been to serious property tax reform and I hold out hope that we will get it done. We have started budgets, which is the one thing that we MUST accomplish during this legislative session and that means we are on the downhill slide.
House Republicans Vote to Get Dangerous Repeat Offenders Off the Street
Iowans have every right to expect their county attorney to enforce the law and keep our communities safe. That’s their job. Iowa law makes it clear: county attorneys are supposed to “diligently enforce” state laws and protect the public.
But when that duty is ignored, the results can be devastating, and sometimes deadly.
Earlier this month, Polk County held what they called a “Warrant Resolution Clinic.” The idea was to let people with non-felony, non-violent warrants come in, resolve their cases, and leave without being arrested. Polk County Attorney Kimberly Graham promoted it to improve public safety.
During the event, the County Attorney’s Office and local media spotlighted one participant, Sharneeka Evans. They praised how quickly she met with a judge, got a new court date, and walked out free from her probation violation warrant.
What they didn’t tell the public is that Evans has a long and violent criminal history. She pushed someone down a flight of stairs, hit another person with a glass bottle, and attacked someone with a bat. She’s repeatedly failed to follow probation rules and has stacks of unpaid fines. Despite all of that, she was welcomed into this “non-violent” warrant clinic.
Less than a week later, Sharneeka Evans was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Ashley Hall.
This is exactly why law-abiding Iowans are fed up.
House Republicans have consistently fought for real public safety. We’ve passed three-strikes legislation to make sure habitual offenders go to prison. We’ve passed bail reform and increased penalties for serious crimes. This kind of warrant clinic is the opposite of law and order; it puts criminals first and law-abiding citizens last.
Last week, the House Government Oversight Committee held a hearing on this failure. When Representatives questioned Justin Allen, the First Assistant Polk County Attorney, he admitted they didn’t even look at participants’ criminal histories before clearing their warrants. When asked if his office would do anything differently after this tragedy, his answer was “no.”
That’s unacceptable.
The Polk County Warrant Resolution Clinic was a serious breach of the public’s trust. County attorneys are elected to protect Iowans, not to give violent repeat offenders a free pass. The fact that the Polk County Attorney’s Office continues to defend this clinic and says they’ll do it again shows exactly why these events must be stopped.
On Wednesday, the Iowa House took strong action. We passed HF 2787 by a vote of 71-20 to ban future warrant resolution clinics in Iowa. Warrants should be handled through the proper system, one that puts public safety first.
The bill now moves to the Senate. I’ll continue fighting to make sure dangerous repeat offenders are taken off our streets and that Iowa county attorneys focus on protecting the people who obey the law.
