Constitutional crime fighters

The possibility still haunts Geneva DeLong.

That if Maurice Clemmons, a habitual offender convicted of several felonies, hadn't been granted bail in Washington last November, he wouldn't have been free to murder four Lakewood, Wash., police officers, including her daughter, Tina Griswold, six days later.

"He had a long record, and he had been deemed to be dangerous and the court had been notified of that," said Geneva, who lives in Post Falls. "But the (Washington state) constitution, it read like Idaho's does, that all persons shall be bailable except for (those charged with) capital offenses."

Not anymore.

Still mourning the loss of her daughter, Geneva and her family have already had some success in campaigning for legislation in the Northwest to make it harder for career offenders like Clemmons to bail out of jail.

"We need to look at these people. This is not your regular person," Geneva said. "These are career criminals and murderers. They don't care."

Geneva and her husband, Stan, started lobbying the state of Washington early this year for a constitutional amendment denying bail to career criminals when it can be proven they are a danger to society.

"What we're trying to do is back any law that protects law enforcement officers and also protects the public," Geneva said.

Along with the families of the other officers killed by Clemmons, the DeLongs petitioned the state legislature and testified before committees.

The amendment passed this month.

"It feels good," Geneva said.

Except that it's not enough, the 68-year-old said.

The Idaho constitution has the same problem the Washington version did, she said: Anyone is bailable, except for those charged with capital offenses.

"If Clemmons had been in Idaho, then he would have been granted bail," she said.

So she has started the campaign again, meeting with Rep. Frank Henderson, R-Post Falls, and writing to every legislator about amending the constitution.

"That isn't to say the exact way that Washington did it is how Idaho should do it, but something needs to be changed," she said. "It's very important that they (legislators) look at it critically."

Henderson, who said Geneva approached him this weekend, isn't certain the amendment will make it through this session, as there are only a few days left before the Legislature adjourns.

"I don't see any difficulty getting it through, but you've got to craft it carefully, then schedule committee hearings," he said. "To get all that done in three or four days is immense. I won't say impossible, but it is difficult."

On top of that, a constitutional amendment must go before the voters, Henderson said.

If it doesn't make it onto this year's ballot, it won't have a chance to appear on another ballot for two more years, he said.

"A constitutional amendment is very difficult," he said.

There's a possibility a constitutional amendment may not be needed to make the change, but he won't be sure for another day or so, he added.

"I don't want to raise hopes for anybody that we're going to get it done," he said.

Attempting to change the law was a natural avenue for Geneva, whose career included working as a paralegal for the Washington Supreme Court and working at the Kootenai County Prosecutor's Office.

"I know enough about the criminal system and the legal system to try to make things safer, and to do it in a way that is honorable and that is honoring my daughter's name," Geneva said.

Clemmons, whose past record included aggravated robbery and theft of property, had been transferred from Arkansas to Washington for his parole in the mid-2000s.

In 2009 he was charged with second-degree rape of a child and failure to appear in court. He posted bail on Nov. 23.

Several days later he walked into a Lakewood coffee shop and shot and killed four police officers who were about to go on duty.

He was shot and killed several hours later by a Seattle police officer.

Geneva said her goal is to prevent others from facing her daughter's fate.

"I could just think about myself and cry all day every day, or I can do this," she said. "I can choose to protect and serve and help my fellow man, and that is what I've chosen to do."