Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said the suite of criminal justice measures she signed into law Tuesday would help keep Iowa communities safer, and could prevent future crimes in instances like the death of Ashley Marie Hall.
Hall was killed in a shooting incident in April in Des Moines. Sharneeka Evans was charged with first-degree murder in relation to Hall’s death. The shooting gained Republican lawmakers attention as reporting found Evans had an outstanding arrest warrant that was resolved just a week before the shooting at a free warrant resolution clinic. The clinic washosted by Polk County Attorney’s Office, alongside the Polk County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council and other organizations April 3. The event allowed people with certain arrest warrants to resolve or reschedule their court cases and sign up for payment plans.
While the arrest warrants resolved at the clinic for Evans and other participants were for nonviolent, non-felony charges, GOP lawmakers linked Hall’s death to the event. Lawmakers passed House File 2787, which prohibits public entities from hosting, sponsoring or providing funding for warrant resolution clinics in the future, creating a simple misdemeanor charge for public employees and officials who violate the ban, and stopping counties from accessing court debt funds if they hold such events…