In 1999, Patrick Harned lured a 7-year-old neighbor, Ashley Ann Carlson, into his parents’ basement in Astoria, where he sexually abused her and strangled her to death. After a lengthy trial, Judge Philip Nelson sentenced Harned to life in prison without parole because of the threat he would pose to the community.

Gov. Kate Brown, without any notification to the victim’s mother or the district attorney’s office, issued a surprise commutation of Harned’s sentence and allowed him to seek early release.

A 2019 law approved by the Legislature made it extremely difficult to try older teenagers, even those who commit particularly violent crimes covered by Measure 11, as adults.

For reasons I cannot understand, a story in The Astorian (Feb. 10) describes Brown’s commutation of Harned’s sentence and the effect of this law as a “reassessment in light of Oregon’s changing policies and attitudes toward criminal justice.”

This sounds like political “newspeak” from Brown’s office.

Brown’s decision to retroactively apply the law to Harned is only possible because of the unlimited power of pardon and commutation available to her, even though she is leaving office after this year and has the lowest approval rating of any governor in the nation.

Having served as your district attorney, I care deeply about our community and the importance of holding the few who do great violence accountable.

Please consider writing Brown’s office a letter telling her if you think letting Harned — now known as Jessie Davin Payne-Rana — out of prison early is a wise and fair idea.

JOSHUA MARQUIS

Astoria