Rushed leniency hearings for criminals convicted in savage beatings and deadly home invasions were thwarted this week by a judge in Portland, Oregon, who argued the outgoing city prosecutor, once supported by left-wing billionaire George Soros, didn’t properly notify victims about the court dates.

Multnomah County Circuit Judge Melvin Oden-Orr on Monday rescheduled the leniency hearings for February, denying District Attorney Mike Schmidt a chance to fulfill what his incoming replacement called a “last-minute giveaway.”

“They’re extremely violent individuals who have committed horrible crimes, and they’re being given some kind of a break,” DA-elect Nathan Vasquez told The Oregonian.

Mr. Vasquez is set to take office next week after soundly defeating Mr. Schmidt at the ballot box, thanks to a tough-on-crime message.

Mr. Schmidt was elected in 2020 and received campaign cash from Mr. Soros during the district attorney’s failed reelection effort in May.

Judge Oden-Orr rescheduled the leniency hearings for February because prosecutors didn’t give victims at least 30 days’ notice about the court dates as required by law. 

The cases are decades old, and at least one of the convicts has already served his sentence, but the crimes still produce strong feelings from the victims.

One of the leniency proposals is for convicted murderer Frank Swopes, whose break-ins at the homes of two elderly women resulted in one being killed and another being sexually assaulted by the thief.

Swopes was convicted in the fatal home invasion at a 75-year-old woman’s home when court documents said he told his accomplice to “keep her quiet.” The accomplice shoved the elderly woman to the floor, causing her to die. 

The thieves made off with the victim’s wedding ring and $8 in the heist.

A week later, records show Swopes took part in another break-in where he strapped a 76-year-old woman to her bed and “terrorized” her until she shared her ATM pin. 

Swopes was convicted in 1993 and sentenced to nearly 36 years in prison. The convict, 62, is seeking to be released early.

Another person seeking leniency is Shane Ebberts, who was 16 when he beat a student at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon, over the head with a mallet handle in 1995. 

Ebberts’ codefendant, Brian Lawler, cracked a baseball bat on another victim’s head during the unprovoked attack. Court documents said Lawler’s victim suffered a fractured skull and had to be put into a medically induced coma to recover from the beating.

Ebberts, now 46, pleaded guilty and served a seven-year prison sentence. Former prosecutors told The Oregonian that his resentencing if approved, would reduce his charges from assault to attempted assault — a charge he could have expunged from his record.

“Attempted my (expletive)!” Evan Gardner, the now 52-year-old victim of Ebberts’ mallet handle attack, told the paper. Mr. Gardner was 22 at the time and said he still remembers the sound of the baseball bat striking his friend’s head.

Neither Mr. Gardner nor David Clarke, the other victim, expressed support of the proposed leniency.

Mr. Vazquez can decide to pull the resentencing proposals once he is sworn in next week.

The cases are scheduled to go before Judge Oden-Orr again on Feb. 13.

• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.