Featured Stories  Crime victims deserve better  Among the most
egregious flaws in Oregon's justice system is its inability to
collect the money that criminals are supposed to pay to their
victims in the way of restitution.  Judges frequently order that
such restitution be made - but more often than not, crime
victims are left hanging without a dime. This shortcoming
violates just about anyone's sense of justice, and it also is a
direct infringement on the Oregon Constitution.  That's why we
support Oregon Attorney General John Kroger's push for
legislation that would begin to improve the restitution system
and actually require criminals to make financial amends for the
harm they cause to others.  It's no secret that criminals in
Oregon don't pay their restitution. A recent Pamplin Media Group
investigation into this matter showed that Multnomah County
alone has $77 million in unpaid restitution and that only about
5 percent of the money owed by parolees is ever collected. (The
figure is 25 percent for those o