Title: 'BENNY'S LAW' AIMS AT GANG MEMBERS - SENTENCES ENHANCED FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN Author: Toni Coleman, Pioneer Press Date: March 4, 2005 Section: Local Page: B6 Gang members convicted of violent crimes against children would have to serve their full sentences, getting no time off for good behavior, under a bill introduced Thursday in honor of Ben Doran, the St. Paul teenager who was beaten to death nearly two years ago by two reputed gang members. Two Twin Cities men with extensive records were given 30-year sentences, but might actually serve two-thirds of their sentence in prison for their attack on Doran, 15, a sophomore at Como High School. Doran had been playing basketball with friends at the Rice Recreation Center on March 31, 2003, when the men may have mistaken him for another youth they were after.There already are harsher penalties for those convicted of crimes to benefit a gang, but "Benny's Law" would lower the threshold so that prosecutors only need to prove the perpetrator was a member of a gang and not that the crime was committed to benefit the gang. Calling crimes perpetrated against innocent children the most heinous of offenses, the bill's chief sponsor, Rep. John Lesch, DFL-St. Paul, said gang members don't deserve credit for good behavior while in prison. "We believe when you commit a crime like this, there is no good time. You need to serve at least the entire sentence," said Lesch, who represents the North End. Sen. Ellen Anderson, DFL-St. Paul, is sponsoring the bill in the Senate along with an amendment that would appropriate $100,000 to a youth crime prevention organization that teaches marine ecology, which was a special interest of Ben's. "The two who murdered my son were seasoned drug dealers and gang members by the seventh grade," Maggie Doran, the victim's mother, told a House committee during a hearing on the bill. The Public Safety Policy and Finance Committee members didn't react to the bill, only to inquire about the additional costs of having gang members convicted under the proposed law serve their full sentence. The bill may be included in the final public safety bill. "Every single day in Minnesota, good kids, great kids like Benny, are victimized by gang members and other violent offenders," Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said at a news conference announcing the measure. "The goal here is to send a strong message to gang members and other violent offenders that we are going to protect our children." In response to concerns the law will not deter crime, law enforcement officials said the fear of longer sentences for gang members often causes alleged offenders to strike a plea agreement, getting them off the street. Fletcher said the longer sentences under "Benny's Law" mean offenders won't get out sooner to victimize others. Toni Coleman can be reached at tcoleman@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5442. Author: Toni Coleman, Pioneer Press Section: Local Page: B6 Copyright 2005 Saint Paul Pioneer Press