House Bill passes forcing those charged with accessory to murder to serve 85% of sentence

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — A bill authored by Rep. Steve Bashore (R-Miami) would add accessory to murder in the first or second degree to the list of crimes requiring an offender to serve 85 percent of their prison sentence before being eligible for parole.

The bill also says those convicted would not be eligible to earn any credits reducing the sentence to below 85 percent.

House Bill 2946 is named “Lauria and Ashley’s Law” after Welch teens Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman were kidnapped, tortured, raped, and killed on New Year’s Eve in 1999.

It is presumed the girls’ bodies were dumped in a Pitcher mine pit. Freeman’s parents, Danny and Kathy, were shot to death in the crime. Their remains were found in their home that had been set on fire.

Lauria Bible’s mother, Lorene Bible; her cousin, Lisa Bible-Brodrick; and Melissa Dixon, another family member, were all present as the bill passed on the House floor on a vote of 85-13.

The bill addresses the reduced prison sentence given to Ronnie Busick, a man charged with accessory to felony murder in the case. Busick was sentenced in 2020 to 10 years in prison with five years’ probation, and one year supervised.

Because of credits earned while in prison and the county jail, Busick was released after three years in prison.

“While I can’t rewind the clock and re-prosecute this horrible crime, I can do the only thing I know to do to try to bring some measure of peace to this family that has suffered so much,” Bashore said. “I’ve authored legislation to 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.”

For more than 24 years, the family members of Bible and Freeman have not found out the full details of the crime or where their girls’ bodies are located.

“For twenty-four years we’ve searched and searched and searched for the girls, always asking what do we do next. What haven’t we done,” Lorene Bible said. “We were never told that accessory to felony murder was not an 85% crime. We would never have agreed to that had we known.”

Bible said when the family found out Busick would be released after just three years in prison, they were furious, but they soon realized there was nothing they could do.

“Busick basically has more rights than we do at this point,” she said. “And while we cannot help Lauria and Ashley, if this law helps another family so they don’t have to be in the same place we are, then we want that. We also want criminals who go along with these crimes to know that if they get caught they will do as much time as the person who pulls the trigger.”

Opponents of the bill say it’s too strong for people who do not do the actual killing. Democrats said in the Welch case specifically, the district attorney should have asked for maximum time for Busick which could have been 45 years. Had he done so, he would not have been released.

“This may have been a situation where an attorney, a district attorney, allowed a plea with a far reduced amount of time served than what could have been put in place,” said State Representative Andy Fugate (D-OKC).

Both sides said they were shocked by how Busick’s case played out and other reforms need to be made.

After the debate was over, they honored Bible and Freeman’s families and investigators who watched the bill pass the House.

If enacted, Lauria and Ashley’s Law would go into effect on Nov. 1, 2024.