Former Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s (D) effort to release prisoners early over COVID concerns has found at least four women dead; each connected to the same person of interest whose sentence was commuted.
(Video: KOIN 6)
In Nov. 2019, Jesse Lee Calhoun had been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to a number of felonies that included injuring a police officer and a police dog while resisting arrest. Even with felony convictions dating back to 2004, progressive Brown put ideology above public safety and the 38-year-old convict was among nearly 1,000 inmates to have their sentences commuted by the governor more concerned about prisoners’ vulnerability to COVID than society’s vulnerability to them.
Now, Calhoun has been named as a person of interest connected to the murder of at least four separate women in Oregon, according to multiple reports of the ongoing investigations.
A joint release issued Monday from the Gresham Police Department, Portland Police Bureau, Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, Clackamas County District Attorney’s Office, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Polk County District Attorney’s Office, and Oregon State Police determined four victims whose bodies were discovered between Feb. and May 2023 were somehow linked.
“No charges have been filed against anyone in connection with any of these four death investigations,” the release clarified regarding victims Kristin Smith, 22; Charity Lynn Perry, 24; Bridget Leann Webster, 31; and Ashley Real, 22. “Investigators have interviewed multiple people in connection with these cases and have identified at least one person of interest that is linked to all four of the decedents.”
According to the Willamette Week, officials had contacted Gov. Tina Kotek (D) about Calhoun after details of the deaths emerged. A statement from spokeswoman Elisabeth Shepard said, “The governor’s office received a request to revoke Jesse Lee Calhoun’s commutation status from the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office on July 3, 2023, and fulfilled the request the same day. We do not have further comment as this is a pending investigation.”
As a result, Calhoun, though not named as a suspect or formally charged, was taken into custody pertaining to his original sentence and was being held at Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, Oregon since July 6.
Two years prior, the person of interest had been granted conditional commutation for joining other inmates of the Oregon Department of Corrections in fighting the Labor Day fires of 2020 that burned roughly 700,000 acres. He and 40 other inmates received commutations that took 12 months off their sentences, leading to Calhoun’s early release in July 2021.
“I’m absolutely horrified for the victims, their families, and all those who have experienced this loss,” Brown said in a statement. Meanwhile, on her way out the door, she saw to it that each of the 17 named death row inmates had their sentences changed to life in prison without the possibility of parole, showing her favor for leniency toward criminals.
Dem gov’s put progressive politics in front of safetyhttps://t.co/TVwthgEleF
— American Wire News (@americanwire_) December 14, 2022
In total, Brown had shortened sentences for 912 nonviolent inmates because of COVID concerns and granted 130 pardons in addition to nearly 50,000 cannabis convictions getting removed.
The family of a fifth victim, Joanna Speaks, issued a statement to KOIN 6 as they believe she may also be connected to the person of interest.
“We are glad this is finally being shared with the community as we knew it in our hearts all along,” they said. “We are in direct communication with our detective to verify why our sister’s name has not been linked to the person of interest along with the 4 other girls as of this morning.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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