The 60th Oklahoma Legislature will get a chance to pass the Lauria and Ashley Law when the session begins in February 2025. Representative Steve Bashore refiled the legislation which makes the accessory to murder in the first or second degree an 85% crime. That’s a crime requiring the offender to serve at least 85% of a prison sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
The measure is named after Lauria Bible and Ahsley Freeman of Welch. The teenagers were kidnapped, tortured, raped, and killed on New Year’s Even 1999. Ashley’s parents, Danny and Kathy Freeman, were shot to death and found in their mobile home which had been set ablaze.
Ronnie Busick received a ten-year prison sentence with five years’ probation as an accessory to the murders. Because he had earned “good-days” while incarcerated, as well as, receiving time earned while in jail during the trial, Busick spent three years in prison. He was released and lived in the community where the crimes were committed.
Bashore filed the bill this week.
“I made a promise to the Bible family that I would continue to fight for justice for victims like Lauria and Ashley,” Bashore said. “For almost 25 years, these families have lived with the unimaginable pain of not knowing the full details of this crime or where their loved ones’ bodies are located. They’ve endured the long, arduous process of court cases and agonizing searches for the bodies of the missing girls. While this legislation can’t lessen their pain, they deserve to know that justice will be fully served in similar cases moving forward.”
The House passed the measure last year, but it did not move forward in the Senate.
“This legislation will ensure going forward that anyone connected with a felony murder such as this will not be released prematurely from prison and will not receive any type of credits for time served,” Bashore said.
