Anchorage Press: The bumper sticker for Alaska crime Senators reflect on criminal justice bill and the backlash it created

Harvesting honey. It’s an unusual analogy Senator John Coghill (R-Fairbanks) used to interpret implementing law and the challenges he’s experienced because of Senate Bill 91 – a contentious omnibus crime bill he championed – during an interview in his Juneau office. One must be calm and precise if approaching a beehive without the aid of protective gear, he explains. He’s seen his son-in-law perform this honey harvesting technique, so Coghill knows from experience.

“The same thing is true with making law. The bees, the noise, the consternation. You want to pay attention to, but you have to purposefully, calmly say what is the best way to do that and if the courts and the police cannot communicate how do we fix that…,” he said.

This article is one of two appearing in a June 2018 issue of the Anchorage Press. The full article can be viewed here.

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