Oklahoma Senate Tells Lorene Bible They Don't Have Time To Hear Lauria And Ashley's Law

Lorene Bible is asking people to call the Oklahoma State Senate after finding out Lauria and Ashley's law won't be heard.

The bill is named for two 16-year-old girls who went missing in 1999 and have never been found. 

The proposed law would require anyone convicted of accessory to murder to serve 85 percent of their sentence. Lorene Bible says if this bill isn't heard on Thursday, April 25, she'll have to wait until next year to try again.

She says she's already waited too long for justice and says this proposed law is too important to put on hold. She says this law is needed because the only person convicted in the disappearance of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman, got a 10-year prison sentence but only served two years and four months of it.

Ronnie Busick pleaded guilty to accessory to murder. Investigators believe the others involved in murdering the girls are now dead. Bible says not passing this law would be like a punch to the gut.

"When you are fighting, and you’ve fought for 24 years to be heard, for the voices of the girls to be heard, that they matter, you know that they said we don't have time how do you not have time because this could actually be your family member," said Lorene Bible.

The House passed the bill and the Senate Judiciary Committee also passed it, but, Lorene says the Senate says it doesn't have time to hear it.

She's asking people to contact the office of Senate Majority Floor Leader Greg McCourtney at 405-521-5541.

On Thursday, Senator Greg McCortney released a statement about the bill.

“The Senate not hearing this bill is a policy decision and based on not going backward on criminal justice reform,” Sen. McCortney said. “Statistics have made it clear that Oklahoma previously led the nation and parts of the world in over-incarceration. The demands for reform reached a fever pitch and the state legislature, our current governor, as well as voters, acted to make the conscious decision that we needed criminal justice reform, and we acted accordingly. This measure would run counter to that collective goal. The mission of the Department of Corrections in part is to rehabilitate and prepare individuals convicted of crimes to reenter society. The individual who pled guilty in this case was released based on earned credits from policy decisions at the Department of Corrections, not the Senate.”

“While I wholeheartedly agree that the facts and circumstances surrounding the case in question are horrific and my heart goes out to the families involved, it is the job of the Senate to craft and pass sound public policy, while not undermining the will of Oklahomans."

Related Coverage:

1. Oklahoma House Passes Bill Aimed At Keeping Convicted Murderers In Prison To Senate
2. HB 2946 Hopes To Lengthen Time Served For Criminals
3. Senate Bill Filed In Honor Of Missing Welch Girls