Post by thinkinkmesa on Jun 18, 2009 19:49:18 GMT -5
COLUMBUS — A controversial and sweeping prison reform bill that would allow thousands of inmates each year to be released early cleared a sharply divided Ohio Senate panel on Wednesday with unusual bipartisan support.
The reform bill runs counter to years of legislation passed in Ohio to get tough on crime and send more felons to prison. Driving the reform is a dire need to save money. Legislators working on a state spending plan to cover the next two years have until the end of the month to find $3.2 billion in extra revenue or spending cuts.
The expensive prison system -- projected to cost taxpayers $1.82 billion next year -- has grabbed their attention.
Normally, Ohio's Republican legislators are tough-on-crime advocates while
Democrats lean more to reform-minded ideas for incarceration. But the reform proposal, Senate Bill 22, is sponsored by a leading Republican senator and cleared the Criminal Justice Committee by one vote, despite heavy objections from other Republicans. The GOP controls the Senate.
Although Strickland has yet to say what he thinks of the proposal, he has said he favors some sort of prison reform. But dissension over the proposal within GOP quarters and law enforcement groups leaves its immediate future unclear.
"I hoped we would be able to get more sign-offs from the prosecuting attorneys and the other groups," said Senate President Bill Harris, an Ashland Republican, adding that the major disagreements center on just how much time inmates should be able to work off of their sentences.
Harris said he would hold the bill back from a full floor vote to see if a consensus could be reached, but quickly added, "The issue isn't dead."
Under the bill, inmates would be able to cut their sentences by five days for every month they are enrolled and participating in a prison rehabilitation program.
The bill also would allow judges to sentence low-level felons, such as small-time drug dealers who might be staring at a yearlong sentence, to halfway houses instead.
Penalties for crack cocaine possession would be lessened to match that of carrying similar amounts of powder cocaine, while penalties for trafficking powder cocaine would be increased to match crack peddling crimes.
And a program piloted in seven counties that counsels rather than imprisons parents behind on child support payments would be spread to all 88 Ohio counties.
Supporters of the bill, sponsored by State Sen. Bill Seitz, said the package of ideas is intended to ease woefully overcrowded conditions in the state prison system, which currently holds 51,000 inmates but has a capacity of about 38,000. Over time, under this bill, there would be fewer inmates to house and it would save Ohio money.
They also say the measure goes a long way toward changing the way society thinks of prison, moving away from the lock-em-up-and-throw-away-the-key mentality to more rehabilitative efforts that might cut down on recidivism rates.
"It's about changing people's mindset and looking at this issue for what it really is. The majority of people who are locked up, most come out in about six months," said State Sen. Shirley Smith, a Cleveland Democrat and committee member.
"These are people who don't need to be in jail, they need to be in community diversion programs."
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Director Terry Collins said his goal is simply to save money by rethinking the way Ohio punishes its criminals, not allow felons off the hook easy. And criminals locked up for violent crimes would not be eligible for any of the leniency measures.
"There was a misperception by some people, maybe a premeditated move on their part, to try to make it sound like we were going to open the prison doors and let all these people out," Collins said. "It's going to trickle a few people out."
Opponents, however, say the bill tramples on the rights of victims who want to see criminals do every second of their sentences. They also argue that setting felons free early is too high a price to pay to save the state money.
"The fundamental duty of the government is to protect the public," said State Sen. Tim Grendell, a Geauga County Republican who chairs the Criminal Justice Committee but watched with frustration on Wednesday as his every attempt to amend the bill was defeated.
In the end, two of the six Republicans on the committee joined the three Democrats to approve the bill, 5-4.
"I don't think it is responsible to put felons on the street just to save the state a buck," Grendell said.
blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/06/prison_reform_bill_allowing_ea.html
The reform bill runs counter to years of legislation passed in Ohio to get tough on crime and send more felons to prison. Driving the reform is a dire need to save money. Legislators working on a state spending plan to cover the next two years have until the end of the month to find $3.2 billion in extra revenue or spending cuts.
The expensive prison system -- projected to cost taxpayers $1.82 billion next year -- has grabbed their attention.
Normally, Ohio's Republican legislators are tough-on-crime advocates while
Democrats lean more to reform-minded ideas for incarceration. But the reform proposal, Senate Bill 22, is sponsored by a leading Republican senator and cleared the Criminal Justice Committee by one vote, despite heavy objections from other Republicans. The GOP controls the Senate.
Although Strickland has yet to say what he thinks of the proposal, he has said he favors some sort of prison reform. But dissension over the proposal within GOP quarters and law enforcement groups leaves its immediate future unclear.
"I hoped we would be able to get more sign-offs from the prosecuting attorneys and the other groups," said Senate President Bill Harris, an Ashland Republican, adding that the major disagreements center on just how much time inmates should be able to work off of their sentences.
Harris said he would hold the bill back from a full floor vote to see if a consensus could be reached, but quickly added, "The issue isn't dead."
Under the bill, inmates would be able to cut their sentences by five days for every month they are enrolled and participating in a prison rehabilitation program.
The bill also would allow judges to sentence low-level felons, such as small-time drug dealers who might be staring at a yearlong sentence, to halfway houses instead.
Penalties for crack cocaine possession would be lessened to match that of carrying similar amounts of powder cocaine, while penalties for trafficking powder cocaine would be increased to match crack peddling crimes.
And a program piloted in seven counties that counsels rather than imprisons parents behind on child support payments would be spread to all 88 Ohio counties.
Supporters of the bill, sponsored by State Sen. Bill Seitz, said the package of ideas is intended to ease woefully overcrowded conditions in the state prison system, which currently holds 51,000 inmates but has a capacity of about 38,000. Over time, under this bill, there would be fewer inmates to house and it would save Ohio money.
They also say the measure goes a long way toward changing the way society thinks of prison, moving away from the lock-em-up-and-throw-away-the-key mentality to more rehabilitative efforts that might cut down on recidivism rates.
"It's about changing people's mindset and looking at this issue for what it really is. The majority of people who are locked up, most come out in about six months," said State Sen. Shirley Smith, a Cleveland Democrat and committee member.
"These are people who don't need to be in jail, they need to be in community diversion programs."
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Director Terry Collins said his goal is simply to save money by rethinking the way Ohio punishes its criminals, not allow felons off the hook easy. And criminals locked up for violent crimes would not be eligible for any of the leniency measures.
"There was a misperception by some people, maybe a premeditated move on their part, to try to make it sound like we were going to open the prison doors and let all these people out," Collins said. "It's going to trickle a few people out."
Opponents, however, say the bill tramples on the rights of victims who want to see criminals do every second of their sentences. They also argue that setting felons free early is too high a price to pay to save the state money.
"The fundamental duty of the government is to protect the public," said State Sen. Tim Grendell, a Geauga County Republican who chairs the Criminal Justice Committee but watched with frustration on Wednesday as his every attempt to amend the bill was defeated.
In the end, two of the six Republicans on the committee joined the three Democrats to approve the bill, 5-4.
"I don't think it is responsible to put felons on the street just to save the state a buck," Grendell said.
blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/06/prison_reform_bill_allowing_ea.html