In the final days of his term, Portland's outgoing DA, Mike Schmidt, is trying to reduce sentences of some violent criminals. This includes a convicted murderer who's nearly finished his 35-year sentence. The new DA, Nathan Vasquez, saw this as a last-minute favor for these offenders, who committed serious crimes. One of these is Frank Swopes Jr. , who was involved in two violent robberies in the 1990s. The second robbery was particularly brutal, involving sexual assault and possible bodily fluids. Schmidt argues that these petitions are part of a larger effort to seek justice, not just convictions. One victim of another criminal on the list is against the idea. He thinks it trivializes the harm done to him and others. The new DA takes office on January 6, so this last-minute push is causing controversy.
